Pretty Cure Bukatsudo Energetic
by Midoriri
Summary: The Dream Charm, which nurtures hopes and dreams all over the universe, has been shattered into pieces. A new group of Pretty Cure, themed after school clubs, have to piece it back together and stop the group Mora from destroying everyone's dreams! -fanseries-
1. Chapter 1

It was very early morning, the time of morning when it's still dark out and most sane people would be sleeping, considering it to still be night. No one was awake yet, the streetlights were just beginning to turn off, only a few at a time, and a light wind blew some stray pieces of litter around. They'd be picked up in a few hours.

Because, obviously, people were still sleeping and couldn't do it right now.

Which meant that no one saw what happened a few seconds later.

The sky was suddenly lit up by dozens of bright silver lights which streaked across the sky, falling to the ground at high speeds and fading away wherever they landed. The tiny pinpricks landed in trees, water, on rooftops...and one in particular fell through an open skylight in Atama Academy.

As if they were following only that particular light, two more lights, these ones pastels green and blue, crashed down to rest in the school gardens. The lightshow ended as quickly as it started, and there were no witnesses.

In a rosebush in the school garden, a pastel-green snake slowly unwound herself from the branch she'd been clinging to. "Oh...ow..." she groaned, wincing and shaking her head. Opening her eyes, she looked up at the sky, then looked around where she'd landed. No one had followed them. Good. "Kaana? Kaana, where'd you fall?" she whisper-called.

"O-Over here, Big Sister...But you're gonna be mad at me..." came a small voice from the next shrub over.

Hisa slithered over, easily spotting the pastel-blue snake. Kaana stood over a small plushie of a female human, its eyes closed and hands joined together over its stomach. The plushie was dressed in purples and pinks, sparkles and jewels, a transparent sash wrapped around her arms. And for some reason, the sight of it made Kaana sniffle pathetically. "I dunno what happened, Big Sister!" she wailed. "She was holding my hand one minute, and then I felt something go CRUNCH and there were lights everywhere, and then-!" She sobbed, shivering a bit as Hisa rested her head on top of her own.

"Shhh...it's okay...I'm not mad, we can fix this...The Dream Charm probably broke during transit, that's all," she said soothingly. "We can just piece it back together, let's see now." She inclined her head towards the silvery pouch around Kaana's neck. Kaana pressed herself to the ground to pull it off, and then she and Hisa both pushed the fabric apart to open it-

-too easily.

"Wait..." Hisa murmured, staring inside the pouch. All that was in it was a tiny shard of diamond, attached to a thin gold chain. There was nothing else in there.

Which meant that the light show was...

"Uwaaaah! Big Sister, please don't be angry!"

* * *

**OP: "Purikyua Club" - Bukatsudo Four**

* * *

"Fu-mi-e-taaaan...Fu-mi-e-tan..."

Fumie Motou groaned, burrowing deeper into the covers and pulling her sheet over her head. The sheet fell back down a little bit, exposing her messy blonde curls. "Hmmmff..."

Her roommate, a girl with red-orange hair arranged in braided "donuts" on either side of her head and long ponytails, sat cross-legged at the foot of Fumie's bunk. She was already dressed in her cheerleader uniform, pompoms held in her lap as she grinned at Fumie's head. "Fumie-tan, wake up!" she cried, giving the pompoms a little shake.

Fumie just groaned again and rolled over.

Mari giggled quietly to herself, tongue poking out from between her lips as she decided to use Plan B. Forgive me, Fumie-tan! Then she took a deep breath and, still smiling broadly, leaned forward and shouted. "Fumie-tan, wake up! You're gonna be late for school!"

"Hah?!" The blonde suddenly bolted upright, blankets flying up as she looked around in a panic, dark blue eyes wide. With another loud cry, Fumie rolled over, falling off the bed and onto the floor. (Luckily, she slept on the bottom bunk.) Scrambling back to her feet, Fumie raced around the tiny room, combing her curly hair with her fingers, trying to hop out of her pajama bottoms and locate her uniform all at the same time. "Mari, why didn't you wake me earlier?!" she wailed, flinging the closet open and pulling out her shoes.

Mari just continued smiling as Fumie struggled to put her shoes on, then realized too late that she hadn't even taken off her pajama-pants and then tried to pull them off over her shoes, still making flustered "Fwah!"s every two seconds. "I mean, we share a room-wait, why aren't you in class, you never miss class or practice and don't you better things to do than sit there and laugh-?! Eh..." Suddenly stopping in her panicked word-vomiting, Fumie straightened up, a puzzled look on her face. "Wait..."

As Mari fell backwards, unable to contain her laughter anymore, Fumie stared in shock at the kitten-shaped clock on the wall. 5:30. Fumie's pale face returned to its usual color, then went to pink, then red...

"MA-RIIIIIII!"

* * *

**TODAY'S EPISODE: Paint a Perfect Picture! I Am Cure Ink!**

* * *

"That was terrible..." Fumie pouted, sitting at the edge of her bed, a comb going through her hair. She was considerably calmer now that she knew she wasn't late after all, and was now wearing her school uniform instead of pajamas and shoes. "You could've picked a nicer way to wake me up, Mari."

"Ah, come on," Mari said, lying on her stomach with her chin in her hands. "That's the best way to wake someone up! See, no matter how sleepy you are, whenever you look at a clock and notice you're late for something or other, don't you just get this jolt?" She mock-spasmed, as if being electrocuted, for a second. "And then you're wide awake, energized and ready to face the day! It was the perfect way to get you up for school."

Fumie eyed her roommate from the corners of her eyes, still pouting a bit as she lowered the comb. "But at such an early time, Mari? None of the clubs are awake at this hour..."

"Well I wanted to give you ample time to prepare for your day! And there was the off-chance the charge didn't work," Mari mumbled the last bit, putting a hand to her mouth. Then she fell silent, no doubt pondering what she would have done if that had indeed been the case. "Hm...that'd be a bit of a problem." Then in an instant, her beaming smile was back as she turned back to Fumie. "So you see, it's totally okay waking you up at five AM!"

Five-thirty, actually...you let me sleep in, Fumie couldn't help but think to herself, sighing and rising to her feet. "Remind me to do something horrible to you someday," she half-teased, walking over to the nightstand and opening the drawer. Pulling out her pocket-computer, she hit a few buttons, checking her email. There wasn't anything of interest this morning-no new homework assignments, no last-minute announcements, no newsletter (it was the wrong day for it, Fumie reminded herself). Absolutely nothi-huh?

Fumie's eyes widened a little bit as a blinking icon of a smiling envelope appeared onscreen just then. New E-Mail! The icon blinked a few more times, then faded away to reveal the inbox. That's weird... Fumie thought, frowning a bit.

The subject line simply read Pretty Cure. And in the space where a sender's name and email would be listed, there was nothing. It couldn't be spam, the blonde reasoned to herself, lips puckering a bit as she stared hard at the subject line. The school's personal computers were special so no spam could get in-the only emails that anyone could get on these little things were from people actually at the school; teachers, other staff, other students...

The point was, it really couldn't be spam.

I...guess I should see what it is? Fumie thought to herself, thumb hovering over one of the buttons. Shouldn't be too bad...besides, "Pretty Cure" sounds cute-if anything, maybe it's an ad for a deal at a Sweet Lolita shop or something. Or there's a new purikura booth coming to town.

No longer hesitating, Fumie selected the email and clicked it.

Thank you and congratulations.

"Eh?" Fumie stared, confusion and disappointment clearly written on her face. That was it? Really? Well what did that even mean? And the subject line and the actual message had nothing to do with each other at all! "Someone's playing a mean trick on me..." she grumbled, puffing her cheeks out and narrowing her eyes. Whoever it was must be a computer whiz if they were able to send her a funny email with no sender.

Or maybe they weren't. I dunno, I'm terrible at computers! Fumie shook her head. Either way, I ought to go out there and give them a piece of my mind, yup!

"Mari!"

The redhead, who had decided to just go ahead and do morning exercises (since she was already up and dressed, too wide awake after her little joke to go back to sleep now), jumped, turning towards Fumie. "Yeah?"

"Someone gave me a funny email!" Fumie stomped her foot as she held up her pocket computer. "And I'm going to the computer lab to give 'em a piece of my mind, right now!" With that, she stormed across the room, yanking the door open with purpose and stepped out into the hall. "Oh..." Suddenly she smiled cheerfully, looking at Mari over her shoulder. "And have fun with your exercises."

"Watch out for the ghost!" Mari shouted, bending over to touch her toes as the door clicked shut.

* * *

In a darkened room, in a dimly-lit place that was both far from the school and yet close, sat a very strange-looking throne. At least, the person approaching it considered it a throne.

It was a simply-shaped, egg-like chair, like something one would see in a sci-fi movie. The chair was black in color, mysteriously hovering a good two feet off the black, mirror-like floor. And around the chair was a clear gel substance, unmoving except for the occasional pulse and shudder. It completely covered the chair in one thick layer, except for where one's head would be. There was just a hole, just wide enough to fit comfortably yet firmly around one's neck.

A moment later, a tall figure was placing an unconscious girl in it.

The girl, who looked to be about sixteen, moaned quietly as she was placed in the chair, carefully, as if the other person thought she was made of glass. She had long blue hair that went to her calfs, a dark red leotard with a dark blue collar, and light purple leggings on underneath it. Over the leotard was an oddly-cut dark blue dress that split into coattails with dark purple lace. Her knee-high boots where a red-black with red jewels over the knee, and she had red and blue gloves that went to her elbows. On her head was a white headband with a black, circular jewel in the center with a triangular one dangling from it-making the overall shape resemble a keyhole.

And that outfit was currently ripped in some areas, exposing nasty red marks and cuts, bruises and burns.

Gachan brushed some hair away from her eyes, face unreadable behind his harlequin mask. He had no reason to worry. The gel would heal her in time. Then they could try again.

"Gachan..."

The blond's head lifted slightly. "Hm?"

The girl, Nocturna, was still mostly unconscious, only awake enough to ask this one thing. "The...Dream Charm...?"

"No."

Nocturna made a disappointed noise before slipping back into unconsciousness.

Gachan, a man wearing a conventional butler's uniform that was muted-blue and black on his left side but grey and muted-red on his right, turned to leave. _The proper response, however_, he thought to himself, _is "No, not **yet."**_

* * *

_"Watch out for the ghost!"_ Mari's farewell-words echoed in Fumie's mind as she walked down the dimly-lit hallway by herself, the only light coming from beginnings of the sunrise filtering in through the windows. Everyone was still asleep, and Fumie's footsteps echoed slightly on the wooden floor.

Wow, and the end of the hallway sure looked dark...

And she was going to have to climb the stairs up a few floors in that darkness...

...and all the images from those horror movies she'd seen in her lifetime came back to her full-force...

...and the rumors that had been floating around Atama Academy about the ghost.

_"Michiko saw it last night, really! It walked across the hallway, looked right at her, and its eyes glowed before it disappeared!"_  
_"Whoa, freaky!"_

Fumie walked faster.

_"Oh my gah-Toki was on his way to the bathroom last night, and he ran into the ghost right outside his door!"_

Fumie began to jog.

_"I heard that she used to be a student here, and now she wants to possess someone to continue being a proper student! And you'll never get your body back if you let her take it!"_

Fumie began running full-speed.

And then a door opened right in front of her.

"AGAH!" Fumie cried, face smacking into the door. She fell on her rear hand, hands over her nose as tears sprang to her eyes. "Owwwww..."

Meanwhile on the other side of the door, a black-haired girl wearing a red leotard poked her head out into the hallway, frowning slightly. "Did I hit something?" she mumbled to herself. She looked down, spotting Fumie. "Ohhh...oops."

"Kurako?" a voice called from inside.

Kurako looked over her shoulder at her roommate sitting up in bed, rubbing her eyes. "Kurako, is there a problem?"

"Everything's fine, Aoi-go back to sleep," Kurako answered, stepping into the hall and quietly shutting the door. Then she looked down at Fumie, adjusting her grip on the water bottle in hand. "Uhm...You okay?"

"F-fine, fine-my nose'll spring back into shape in a few hours, I think," Fumie said, pulling her hands away and crossing her eyes in attempt to see her nose.

Before Kurako could offer her any assistance-maybe a bit of water for that red mark on her nose, or a drink, or maybe an escort to the nurse's office-Fumie suddenly gasped and jumped back to her feet. Kurako held her water bottle and towel closer to herself, eyes widening a bit. "Uhm..."

"Oh God, I can't stop now! That hacker-pranker is still in the Lab! Sorry about your door, bye!" Fumie cried out, running around Kurako and bolting down the hallway-moving so fast that Kurako swore she saw a dust-trail and she felt her hair blow in the breeze.

"...no problem?"

* * *

**Eyecatch 1:** Fumie stands at an easel, tongue poking out slightly as she carefully dabs some paint onto the canvas. Satisfied, she steps back and spins the easel around to reveal a watercolor of Cure Ink, the PCBE logo where a signature should be.  
**Eyecatch 2:** Kurako, Aoi, Kotone, Mari, Uta, Kaana and Hisa all sit down on the floor, watching Fumie. Fumie stands at a podium and bangs a rubber gavel, calling the club meeting to order. The PCBE logo appears in the corner.

* * *

"Big sister?"

"What?"

"May I come out now?"

"Are you sorry about what you did?"

"Very sorry..."

"Alright then."

Sighing, Kaana slithered out of the corner and over to the computer her big sister was sitting in front of. She came up next to her and stared at the steadily-growing pink bar on the screen. "Are all of them sent out yet?"

"No...two messages were received, but the other three are going to take a little while," Hisa murmured, narrowing her eyes a bit. "Ugh, how irritating..."

"I said I was sorry!"

"I wasn't talking about-! Oh, never mind."

And then door burst open.

Fumie skidded to a halt outside the door to the Computer Labs, panting heavily. Moving closer to the door, she stood up on tiptoe, nose to the glass as she looked in the window. One light was flickering in the corner-big enough to be a computer moniter. A-ha! Found you! Fumie smirked, taking a few steps back...

...and then running up and kicking the door open.

"HAH!" she cried, standing in the doorframe, shoulders hunched as she tried (and failed spectacularly) to look menacing. Striding over to the corner with the light in it, she pulled out her pocket-computer. "Caught 'cha! You think it's so funny to just send people fake messages-well it's not! The computer's for school-related stuff, not purikura advertisements! Also-I-wanna-know-how-you-managed-to-send-this-wit h-no-sender-info-and-" She stopped. And stared.

There wasn't a student at the computer. There wasn't even a person at the computer. Rather, there were two animals at the computer.

Two snakes, to be precise.

For a few moments, Fumie and the two snakes just stared at each other, Kaana hiding behind Hisa as best she could, and Fumie's breathing slowly evening out, posture returning to normal. The only sound was the faint hum of the computer. A marching band could have decided to take a shortcut through the lab for some weird reason and the three wouldn't have noticed.

Then Fumie spoke.

"Snakes...are on the computer...sending emails...typing..." she mumbled. Suddenly feeling a little weak in the knees, she reached behind her, groping the air awkwardly for a few moments until she found a chair, then collapsed in it. "Snakes...typing..."

"I think she's taking it well!" Kaana said cheerfully.

Down the hallway, a tanned boy about Fumie's own age strolled along, arms swinging at his sides, a big grin on his face. "Okay..." he was saying to himself. "It's a piece of cake, no obstacles...Just a very simple, very long scavenger hunt. And all the tiems are just in town, so it's all good. Yup!" Fureyaa suddenly laughed, hands going to his hips. "Lady Nocturna will get better in no time, and everyone'll be so proud of me!"

But where to start looking...it wasn't like he had any sort of Shard Detector or the like. (Hmmm...shard detector...he'd have to ask Kemuri about making one of those. Certinly make their job a lot easier.) And this was a big school, in a big town...Fureyaa suddenly winced, a hand brushing over the tiny keyhole-shaped charm in the center of the cord that went over his chest. "Owww...Why now?" he whined.

Wait... Gritting his teeth past the dull ache, Fureyaa looked towards the one open door in the hallway. If he was in pain now...then that must mean...

"Alright!" he grinned. "Playtime!"

"You got the email?" Hisa was asking, one eye narrowed in an imitation of someone who had one eyebrow lowered.

Fumie nodded, holding Kaana to her chest to try and soothe herself, petting the younger snake idly. "Uh-huh."

"And it did say 'Thank you and congratulations?'"

"Uh-huh..." Fumie frowned. "And since I suppose I'll buy your story of needing transforming heroines-only because talking snakes are definitely not normal and you're too lifelike to be animatronic, I must say it's very inconsiderate of you to just type a message and not explain in the email-"

"We were pressed for time!"

"Or even send along a transformation device." Fumie glared at Hisa, making Kaana giggle a little bit. "That's kinda lame."

There was a pause as what Fumie had said sank into Hisa's mind. Didn't send a- She snapped at the blonde "Didn't you download the attachment?!"

"Attachment?"

"There was an attachment right there! That was going to let you transform, you-oh my god, you just charged down to yell at someone without checking everything that was in the email?!"

"Well, maybe you attached a virus..." Fumie mumbled, blushing in embarrassment. The threat of virus had nothing to do with why she didn't download the application-she just didn't see it. "How terrible..."

Kaana saw her sister seething, and slithered out of Fumie's hands. "Well, it's okay," she said, approaching the pocket computer sitting on the table. Using her tail to push the buttons, she maneuvered the little arrow over the attachment and clicked "Download." "All we have to do is download it right now, and then we can explain things much better to Miss Fumie, and she can transform. Is that okay?" she asked, looking up at Hisa for praise.

Before Hisa could answer, Fumie leaned forward, patting Kaana on the head with a soft smile. "Yeah, I like your idea better, Kaana...When it's done downloading I can see how I look, then you can explain why you're lugging a plushie around!"

"It's not a plushie, it's Princess Himemiya," Hisa muttered.

Just then, Fumie fell forward as someone tackle-hugged her, a loud "GWAAAAH!" ringing in her ear.

"H-Hyah?!" she cried out, falling and smacking her chin on the table. The deadweight on her back suddenly vanished, and she was aware of someone standing directly behind her. "What the-? Mari, you didn't have to follow me-Eh, you're not Mari..." she mumbled, turning around and getting a look at her attacker.

To his credit, the shirtless boy at least looked sorry. "Whoop, didn't mean to hurt you already," he laughed, one hand behind his head. "It's not fair to attack someone in civilian form, so foul on me! Tell you what, I'll let you go first blow, 'k?"

"...what? Hisa, Kaana, who is that guy?!"

"We don't..." Hisa and Kaana said at the same time, Hisa staring at Fureyaa with a puzzled frown, Kaana barely glancing at him as she checked the downloading progress.

Fureyaa didn't seem to care that he was so unknown. Probably because he wasn't going to be for long. "Name's Fureyaa!" he smiled, holding up his index and middle finger to give Fumie the V-sign. "I'm with Mora, you see, and that means we're enemies, and that means..."

A little pi! came from Fumie's computer just then: download completed. All the apps she had prior to that, her emails, IM-systems, folders for schoolwork, all faded away into pink light. The light faded a second later to reveal a simple screen lay-out: a dark blue text-box with two buttons beneath it: Okay and Cancel. Fureyaa snatched it from Kaana (who cried out "Hey!") and threw it to Fumie. "Which means I get to beat you up!"

"Wait, what?!" Fumie cried, fumbling the computer-or as it was now, Pretty Cure PC.

"I said I get to beat you up," Fureyaa repeated cheerfully, taking a few steps back. "Go ahead and transform! I'll wait!" he smiled.

And you're not gonna attack me while I'm in the process of it? Fumie couldn't help but think as she glanced between him and the text-box on the screen. Or kill me before I can do anything? ...well, isn't this a gentlemanly first opponent? "Okay, how do I do thi-Oh, wait!"

_It's henshin-time~_ she thought to herself, grinning as she deftly moved her thumbs over the keypad. **C. U. R. E. Okay!**

**"Pretty Cure~ Show my future!"**  
Suddenly she was no longer in the computer lab, but in a midnight-blue void with bright blue sparkles and streams of light flying around her. Fumie grinned with her teeth showing, holding the PC at waist-level as her uniform dissolved into ribbons of dark blue light. The ribbons snapped tight around her, bursting away in "splashes" to reveal a black, long-sleeved minidress with black lace along the bottom of the skirt. The PC glowed bright blue for just a second before ribbons of the same color emitted from the left and right sides, wrapping around Fumie's waist to form a bright blue belt with a midnight-blue skirt that looked just like the black one, but a little shorter. She lifted her arms up, clasping them above her head and spinning around as dark blue light splashed onto her chest, falling away to reveal a midnight-blue, frilly vest. As she spun back to face the same direction she'd faced a moment ago, the top corners of the chest joined together, a dark blue heart-shaped charm with a light blue circle in it appeared to keep them together. Two bright blue bows sprang from the charm. Fumie did a few small hops before leaping into the air, legs bent at the knees beneath her, and more light splashed onto her legs and revealed bright blue capri-pants, black ribbon around the leg-bottoms. Black socks with frilled tops appeared over her feet, and as she stuck her landing, bright lights flashed over them and dark blue Mary-Janes materialized, circular, blue gems on the center of each strap. Eyes shut now, Fumie brought her hands up to her head, grabbing and pulling at thin air-then with a burst of light, a large, dark blue beret appeared on her head, lace of the same color appeared around her collar and at her wrists. At the moment the beret touched her head, her blonde hair suddenly turned a lot brighter and a little more voluminous, and she opened her eyes to reveal that the dark blue had turned ice-blue.  
She grinned wider, one foot behind the other as she moved her left arm in sweeping motions as if painting on a very large canvas.

"Painting the world with new tints, Cure Ink!"

The lights and sparkles faded, Cure Ink staring at Fureyaa, hands on her hips. For a few moments, she glared mildly, back straight and head held high, perfect vision of a super-hero. But then she giggled and looked down at her outfit, lifting the skirt slightly as she held a foot out to see the shoe. "Oh my gah, I look so cute~!" she squealed.

"You seriously do!" Fureyaa laughed. "Makes me feel sorry I gotta ruin that outfit of yours!"

Hisa stared, eyes half-shut as she tried to tell herself that no, Hisa, this most certainly not was happening, their first hero was not giggling and squealing over her clothes, and no, she was not making friendly conversation with an enemy. "We're gonna die," she deadpanned.

"Give her time, Big Sister, give her time..." Kaana laughed nervously. "And just enjoy the show, okay?"

* * *

**ED: "Lead Me There" - YUME featuring Mari**

* * *

**ON THE NEXT EPISODE:**  
Fumie: "Hyaaaah, this still doesn't make any sense! I barely know what I'm supposed to do!"  
Hisa: "Don't worry, Fumie, another girl got the email. And this one actually downloaded the attachment."  
Fumie: "Will you quit reminding me of that?! Oh, and who is the girl anyway?"  
Mari: "Kyaaah! Fumie-tan, you're a magical girl?!"  
Fumie: "M-MARI?!"  
Kaana: "Next time on Pretty Cure Bukatsudo Energetic: Noisy Interrupters! Cure Twirl Debuts! Ooh, that name sounds pretty..."


	2. Chapter 2

Fureyaa grinned, one corner of his mouth quirking higher than the other. "Okay, so here're the rules! I beat you up, you beat me up, and the winner gets to go on their daily lives while the loser gives up forever! Okay Ready-set-go!" He suddenly charged forward and leaped into the air.

Fumie-or rather, Ink-finally tore her gaze away from her new outfit. "Wait, what?"

"Cure Ink!" Kaana screamed.

The next thing Fumie knew, she was seeing stars over a background of red. With a loud crack! Fureyaa had driven his knee right into her nose, hitting her with enough force to send her skidding backwards. She fell on her back to the floor with a weak cry as Fureyaa landed gracefully back on the ground.

"Wow, out so quickly? ...Waaaiiiit." The tanned boy frowned. Something was off here...

"O-Owww..." Ink groaned weakly, lifting a shaky hand to grope blindly in the air until she found one of the computer tables. Gripping the edge of the table, she pulled herself upright, eyes shut tightly...and two red lines frunning from her nose. She reached up with her free hand to check the damage, gasping and opening her eyes when she felt the warm liquid. "Ha...haaaah...Gyaaaaaah! by dose! By dose! I'b bleeediiiiig!"

"O-oh my gosh!" Fureyaa ran towards her again, dropping to one knee as he looked at her injury with a mixture of concern and horror. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! Th-they told me that a Pretty Cure was stronger than normal humans, so they could take a lot of abuse, and-"

"Maybe her nose is her Achilles Heel?" Kaana offered unhelpfully from the sidelines.

Ink wasn't listening. She just held both hands over her nose and wailed.

* * *

**OP: "Purikyua Club" - Bukatsudo Four**

* * *

"Oh man, I didn't think you'd bleed!" Fureyaa fretted, trying to dab at Ink's nose with a corner of his cape. He looked ready to cry himself at this point. "Really, I didn't mean to hurt you-well, okay, I kinda did because we're supposed to be mortal enemies and the boss says you're in the way of our plans-but still! Aw, man, are you okay?!"

"Doe! I'b _bleediiiig!_" Ink seemed incapable of saying anything else at this point. Not opening her eyes even once, she pointed accusingly at the two snakes still on the table. "You dever shaid adythig about bleedig!"

"I didn't even think you would!" Hisa snapped angrily. Fureyaa glanced over at her, getting the distinct impression that if she had limbs, she'd be putting her hands on her hips. "My God, you're worthless!"

"Big sister..." Kaana murmured.

Before anyone could say or do anything else, another figure appeared in the doorway. "Hey, Fumie-tan, are you still in here?"

Fumie actually stopped crying at that, gasping sharply and opening her eyes. Fureyaa, Kaana, and Hisa all snapped their heads towards the direction of the door, seeing a silhouetted figure with long hair and braided odango...

The girl stepped further into the room and the harsh shadows fell away from her, confirming what Ink had suspected the second she heard the voice. Mari stopped a few steps into the computer lab, blinking in confusion as she slowly looked from face to face. Human to reptilian and back again. "Uhm...what's..."

Before she could get anything else out, Fureyaa turned himself fully around, so his back faced Ink. He lifted one arm into the air...and then dramatically pointed at Mari. "A civilian!" he shouted, sounding absolutely horrified. His eyes were wider than they'd been when Ink had started crying, tan face paling a bit as sweat began to bead at his temples. "Civilian! The rules of the game say that no civilian to be harmed!" Suddenly, he ran up to Mari and clapped both hands on her shoulders, bowing his head. "I leave the Cure to you, civilian! Bye now!"

Pulling his cape over his head like a crusader in an old black-and-white movie, he ran out the door, leaving a very-confused Mari and a still-crying Ink.

"Uhm..."

* * *

**TODAY'S EPISODE: Noisy Interrupters! Cure Twirl Debuts!**

* * *

"Purikura?" Mari asked, attention divided between the two snakes and Fumie. Their location had changed to their dorm room, after it'd been realized that most people would find it odd if a girl, not wearing her usual uniform, was sitting and crying on the floor with two talking snakes on the table beside her. So now Ink had returned to being Fumie somehow, and was sitting on the edge of her bed, hissing through clenched teeth as Mari dabbed an alcohol-soaked cotton-ball on her nose. "Sorry, Fumie-tan. But I don't get it. What's photography got to do with any of this?"

"Pret-ty Cure," Hisa enunciated, sounding rather impatient. "A magical warrior. And we need a group of them to heal our princess and retrieve the shards of the Dream Charm!"

"And Fumie is s'posed to be one of 'em!" Kaana said, pointing her tail at the blonde. "A Pretty Cure, I mean, not a Dream Shard."

"Dream Shard? Think of that all by yourself, sis?"

"Yup!"

"Wait. So..." Mari stood up, handing Fumie a band-aid. She bent down a bit to make eye-contact with the snake duo, her own eyes large and shining. "So...so Fumie-tan is a magical warrior...and you come from a magical land-!"

"I think we've established this already..." Hisa muttered.

"S-So...So Fumie-tan...and you are...and that boy was-! Uwaaah~! It's every girl's dream come true!" Mari squealed, straightening up and clasping her hands together. One could literally see stars in her eyes, and if Fumie didn't know better, she'd say there was a big spotlight on the redhead at that very moment. "To fight against evil-doers, to wear cute clothes, to be important and have the fate of a world on her shoulders! Oh my gosh, it's just like the TV shows! Fumie-tan, you have to keep at this!" squealed Mari, rounding on her friend.

Fumie pointed to her nose. "Didn't you see what he did to me?" she whined, lips quivering. "That really hurt!"

"We're doomed..." Hisa muttered to herself before slithering over to the girl and sitting on her knee. She raised her body up a bit, looking at Fumie sternly, an aura of commanding about her. "Fumie. I don't think I quite like you. I don't think I like the idea of you being a Pretty Cure, and honestly, I wonder if you receiving the email was a mistake. However, you're a warrior now, and you have to fight. If you don't, then..." She trailed off, gaze averting from the human girl. As if she didn't want to even think of what would happen.

Kaana was a bit gentler about it. "But...big sister, we sent_ five_ emails," she pointed out. "And Fumie will improve with time and practice, but in the meantime..." She too trailed off, this time because she wanted the others to figure out where she was going with this. She smiled, her wide, childish eyes moving from one girl to the other to the snake.

Fumie stopped poking her nose and straightened up. "Then I should find the other four girls!" she gasped. She suddenly stood up, making Hisa fall to the floor with a surprised yelp, reaching over to pick up Kaana and hug her to her chest. "Oh, Kaana, you're a life-saver I'm gonna go find the others right now, and-"

She was interrupted by a series of four soft chimes. Their first "morning bell." All four occupants in the room looked at the ceiling. "Well...maybe not now," Fumie sighed. She stood again, gently placing Kaana and Hisa on the bed, answering their un-asked question. "Mari and me have to go to class now. i can't try to find my partners during class-time!"

"Oh!" Kaana suddenly bounced into the air-quite a feat, considering she had no legs to speak of. Her eyes started shining again with excitement. "We can do it! We'll be real quiet, too! Big sister and I can look around your class and listen for the beeping-"

Fumie could think of many reasons, or rather people, why that wouldn't be a great idea.

And evidently, so could Mari. "Huh-uh!" she said, stomping her foot for good measure and waving a finger in front of the pair. "No way! You guys stay here, and we'll all find Fumie-tan's teammates when class is over! Like during lunch-time! And you'd be staying in our backpacks!"

Before there could be any more argument, the chimes went off again: first warning.

"Uwah!" Fumie cried, rushing for the door. "C'mon, Mari, we gotta hurry!"

With another stern look and a "Stay!" gesture, Mari ran after her still-disheveled roommate. The snakes could hear her voice echoing down the hallway as the door shut. "Fumie-tan, wait, your buttons are still crooked!"

And then they were alone. With a plush doll of their princess.

Fumie, now looking much neater than she had earlier that day, sat at her desk, tapping a pencil against a plain sheet of notebook paper. She could barely focus on what the teacher was saying. Actually, she didn't think she could tell you what class she was in, and she knew for a fact she was in the right one. All she could think about were talking snakes, plush dolls that wore pretty clothes, cute outfits, and a shirtless boy who kneed people in the face.

It was quite a bit to take in all at once, and especially in the morning.

And...well, truthfully, she could barely remember what the snakes had even told her. She was too busy trying to grasp the fact that two pastel-colored reptiles were actually speaking. Maybe she could ask them again later...or let them explain it to her first teammate and pretend she knew all along. Yeah, that sounded like it'd be the better option.

There was a soft "ahem" next to her, and she looked up to see Mari scooting her notebook to the edge of her desk. Fumie leaned over discreetly to read.

_can't send you an email, what's up with that? anyway, how do you think we're gonna find your partners?_

Fumie frowned, scribbling a reply in her own book. No one reacted to the sudden sound of pencil on paper, they were so used to it from her. _that IS weird...and I dunno. figure we just gotta listen for email alerts i mean mine started beeping so maybe it'll happen here too._

_yeah but then how do you figure out whose computer it is? and how do you even explain that?_

_i could put a note on the bulletin boa-_

"KYAAAAH!"

Both girls jumped as if they'd been tazed, hands quickly going to their laps and guilty looks on their faces, but the scream wasn't the teacher. Nor was it even directed at them.

Another girl, one with long dark purple hair that Fumie recognized as one of the Suzuki twins, was standing on her chair, face pale, legs trembling. "S-Something just touched my leg!" she cried.

From the desk two rows behind her, someone else screamed and stood up so fast their chair fell down behind them. "M-Me too!"

"Something just crawled over my foot!"

"AAAAH!"

By now even people who hadn't been touched were climbing onto their chairs, desks. The teacher was halfway onto her own desk herself, even as she was waving her hands and calling for order. "E-Everyone calm down! St-stay calm!"

Mari suddenly stiffened, squeaking audibly. "F-Fumie-tan-!"

"Waaaah..." a familiar voice whimpered.

Fumie dropped to her knees, unnoticed in the chaos, and came face to face with Kaana and Hisa, the former of whom looked terrified, the latter embarrassed, and both wrapped around Mari's ankle. Fumie frowned. "Didn't Mari tell you to-Mari, hold still...Heeere!" she suddenly cried, holding firmly to the two as she stood up. "It's okay! Two snakes just got loose from the Science Club room! I got 'em!"

The class seemed to calm down a little at that, though the teacher still looked ready to faint. She swallowed, glasses askew and hair disheveled, pointing shakily at the door. "Y-yes...v-very good Miss Motou. R-return them, please..."

Fumie nodded, bowing briefly before running out the door. No sooner had she closed it than Mari cried "I'm going too!" and followed her.

The teacher sighed, running her fingers through her hair and fixing her glasses. her cheeks tinted pink as she cleared her throat. "Ahem...n-now, we were talking about Greece?"

* * *

**Eyecatch 1:** Fumie stands at an easel, tongue poking out slightly as she carefully dabs some paint onto the canvas. Satisfied, she steps back and spins the easel around to reveal a watercolor of Cure Ink, the PCBE logo where a signature should be.  
**Eyecatch 2:** Kurako, Aoi, Kotone, Mari, Uta, Kaana and Hisa all sit down on the floor, watching Fumie. Fumie stands at a podium and bangs a rubber gavel, calling the club meeting to order. The PCBE logo appears in the corner.

* * *

"I told you to stay put!" Fumie admonished.

"Well, technically, _I_ did," Mari said.

To their credit, Kaana and Hisa did truly look sorry. Their heads were down, they refused to make eye-contact, and their tails drooped sadly. Kaana was making small whimpering noises under her breath, and she finally looked into Fumie's eyes. It was amazing how she could actually have tears in her eyes-Fumie didn't think snakes could do that. "W-We only w-wanted to help find the rest of Pretty Cure..."

Fumie's voice caught in her throat as she looked into Kaana's heartbroken eyes. She opened her mouth uselessly, trying to say something, but no words came out. Finally, she sighed, tilting her head forward, all traces of frustration vanishing. "I..I guess I understand...after all, I'm a Pretty Lame Cure so far," she muttered, sounding pretty dejected herself.

Mari smiled brightly, smacking Fumie on the back. "Hey, don't say that! Once you find someone to help out, things'll be hunky-dory, you'll see-!"

"Pardon me."

Kaana and Hisa swiftly moved into Fumie's sleeves, causing her to wiggle slightly as she and Mari turned around. There, right behind Fumie, was the same girl she'd seen that morning in the hallway. She still wore that red leotard, but now her shoulder-length dark hair was pulled into a tiny bun at her crown. She stared blankly at the two girls. "Pardon me. You're in the way."

"Huh?" Fumie glanced behind her. Oh, they were in front of the gymnasium doors. ...oh. Oh! "Oh, sorry!" she cried, stepping aside. Kurako just nodded and walked past.

For a few moments, neither girl said anything. Then they glanced at each other, Hisa and Kaana peeping their heads out of Fumie's collar, and they all looked into the gym.

What she saw made Fumie's breath catch in her throat. Kurako stood on the balance beam, arms out at her sides, chest out, shoulders back. Her eyes were shut as she took a deep breath through her nose. Exhale through the mouth. Inhale again...and then she moved. Kurako's eyes snapped open as she moved her arms up in front of her, one leg kicked out behind her at what Fumie thought was an impossibly-high angle, and fell forward. her hands grasped the beam, her legs kept moving, and she effortlessly flipped over til she stood in the middle of the beam, her other leg angled behind her similar to how she'd started. Her arms swung the opposite way, her back arced as she bent backwards, and then she flipped backwards three times along the beam. When she reached the end, Fumie thought she'd stop right there and remain standing, but no. When Kurako's feet reached the end, she lifted one leg up to spin around once, then launched herself into the air, twirling around before landing on one leg, gracefully moving the other behind it, a completely-stoic expression on her face.

"Yaaaaay!"

Kurako jumped, looking wildly at the doors. Fumie stood in the gym now, clapping her hands so fast and hard that they hurt. "Yaaay! That was amazing, uhm-"

"Kurako Kaneyama," the dark-haired girl said suspiciously. "H-how long were you standing there?" Her tone was suddenly nervous.

"Since you asked me to get out of the way~ Do it again, Miss Kaneyama!"

Kurako stared, eyebrows lowering. "...Fifteen-hundred yen."

Fumie stopped applauding, tilting her head in mild confusion. "E-Eh?"

"Fifteen-hundred yen to stay and watch me practice."

Mari came into the gym just then, closing the doors behind her as Fumie nodded energetically. "Deal, deal! Thanks Miss Kaneyama!" No, she really didn't care that she now had to fork over money that she didn't even have right now. She'd just make an IOU and besides, she got to watch someone do...well, that!

As she and Mari settled themselves against the wall, Kaana kept on slithering along, moving down Fumie's arm and into the small pile right beside her. Kurako had brought a fresh towel, water bottle, and best of all, her pocket computer with her! Perfect! Now Kaana could just do a quick check on the girl's inbox and see if she got the message. Grunting a little, she nudged at the computer with her snout, struggling to get it open.

Unseen by all, something strange was happening in the rafters. Black smoke came out of nowhere, spiraling outward from a single spot in the shadows, a violet glow slowly expanding from the center. Then, with a sound like low thunder, it vanished, and a silhouetted figure with long twintails dropped into a crouch. Light caught a ring around one of her eyes as she smirked, exposing her teeth. "Heeeee...well, Fureyaa might be too chicken to attack a Pretty Cure..." She reached into her dress, pulling out a square sheet of black paper. Quickly folding it one-handed, she soon formed it into a crane. With her fingers under the wings, she brought it up to her mouth, took a deep breath, and blew. The sudden rush of air fluttered the wings, and as she lowered her hands, the black paper-crane flapped jerkily down to the gym proper.

Right for the volleyball net.

"Nnn, I'm already thirsty," Kurako sighed, walking over to her audience. She bent to pick up her water bottle, adding "Having an audience for just practice is kinda..." But she didn't get to finish her sentiment, as the ground tremored a bit and there was a guttural groan behind them. "Wh-what the-"

"KYAAAAH!" Mari screamed, bolting upright and pointing.

Kurako whirled around, and Fumie looked past her, to see...a very large, very angry-looking volleyball net. The net had grown several times its original size, the poles used to hold it up and apart acting as legs, with one angry white eye on the top of each. A black keyhole sat in the center of the top of the net's lining. It almost would have been funny if not for the fact the thing was bearing down on them right now.

"Wh-what is that thing?!" Kurako shrieked.

"Fumie!" Mari cried, shooting her friend a terrified look. "Fumie, you're a warrior, aren't you?!"

"U-Uh-" Fumie shut her eyes and gulped audibly, reaching into her uniform pocket just as Hisa fell from her sleeve. "Pardon me, Kaneyama! Pretty Cure~ Show my future!"

Kurako just stood there, trembling in...rage. "Wh-what's even happening?" she cried, features bathed in the bright blue glow emitting from Fumie.

"Painting the world with new tints, Cure Ink!" Ink cried, striking her pose before running towards the former volleyball net.

"Baku!?" it roared, poles tilting a bit to regard her...and then it kicked out with one, sending Fumie crashing painfully back against the wall.

"Gah! Oh, God, owww..."

"Why-why are you dressed like that?" Kurako demanded. "And get that thing out of here!"

"Hey, don't be mean to Fumie-tan, she just started-" Marie began, trembling a bit herself. She was suddenly cut off when a rope, once a harmless tie for the net, lashed out and encircled her, lifting her into the air. "GYAAAAAH! Fumie-taaaan!"

"M-mari!" Fumie cried, snapping back to attention. Gritting her teeth, she charged forward again. One hand reached up to the heart-emblem on her chest, tapping it once and illuminating her hand in bright blue glow. "Pretty Cure...Color Splash!" she cried, throwing her hand out...

...and the heart-shaped attack sailed through one of the holes in the net, forming a crater in the wall. "O-oops."

"The gym!" Kurako cried in rage.

Up in the rafters, the girl winced before giggling under her breath. "Wow, this'll be easy as-"

_Pipipipipipipipi_

"P-pie?"

"Aha!" Kaana squealed happily, eyes widening as she saw the blinking light in the screen. "You are one of them after all!"

Kurako looked away from the, to her, horrible carnage to look at the little snake. "Wh-what the-" she began, then stopped. Her eyebrows lowered as she frowned, marching over to the pile and snatching the pocket computer away. "Normally I'd ask what you're doing here and how you're talking...but after that thing comes in and ruins the gym, nothing surprises me!" Then, without even needing to be told what to do, she stood straight up, turning to face the monster and holding the pocket computer at her chest, pecking the buttons with her fingertips.

**C. U. R. E. Okay!**

"Pretty Cure! Show my Future!"

Kurako now stood in the center of a ruby void, glowing red and pink sparkles and chains of light surrounding her. Her eyes closed, mouth set in a grim line as she held the pocket computer at her waist, unflinching even as red light and magenta flares burst from it, her leotard dissolving away in the same manner. A similar, though much brighter leotard was in its place, magenta bike shorts underneath. She raised her arms above her head, twirling several times as the chains of light zipped towards her, wrapping around her arms and flashing once before becoming long, skin-tight magenta arm-warmers. Pink ribbons wrapped around them, tied in little bow at the wrists. She lifted one leg behind her and spun again, bringing it down once more as the chains wrapped around her legs. The light flashed off to reveal pink thigh-highs with lace along the tops, magenta ribbons around them, leading down to magenta ballet flats with red spherical jewels at the center.

She crossed her arms in front of her, at her waist, then swiftly moved them up over her head and flinging them out, flashes of light forming a pink and red belt, pink frilled vest with red heart emblem and ribbon, and a red choker with pink lace around her neck. Her hair suddenly lengthened, thickened, bunching itself into a large bun at her crown, pink beads securing it in place. Her now-red eyes suddenly snapped open, and she leaped into the air, doing a complicated series of front and back flips, spinning once before landing on her feet. "Spinning with grace and strength, Cure Twirl!"

The figure in the rafters stood up suddenly, recoiling in fright. "A-Another one?!"

One red and pink-clad foot stomped on the floor. "Hey, you!" Twirl cried.

The net Bakuko temporarily stopped his manhandling of Mari. "Bakubaku?"

Twirl glared up at it, one finger pointing accusatorily in his direction. "You dare to not only harm a student, to allow another to vandalize this precious school, but you also interrupt my practice time?! That is far too low to sink!"

The Bakuko actually looked frightened now. Confused, definitely, but frightened as the angry eyes suddenly become round, wide ones, and it flinched back nervously. "B-Baku?!"

"Ink!" Twirl cried, charging forward.

"Y-yes!" Ink responded, smiling brightly. One of her own attacks might have missed, but if two attacked...

Twirl suddenly leaped high into the air, spinning around as both hands came up to touch the heart-shaped emblem on her chest. A glowing pink heart surrounded her hands, steadily growing as she spun faster. "Pretty Cure...Grace Hurricane!" The large glow exploded into numerous tiny lights, spiraling out at the Bakuko. Due to the sheer number of them, quite a few actually hit. The pole-legs actually seemed to buckle as it hunched over a bit, in pain.

"B-baku-"

"My turn!" Ink declared. Eyebrows lowered in concentration, she tapped the emblem on her chest, once again creating a blue glow in her hands. "Pretty Cure...Color Splash!" The heart flew at the Bakuko, this time landing on the lining of the net, right on the keyhole mark. It splashed against the surface as if the glow were made of water.

As the monster stood rigid, the appendage holding Mari slackened, dropping her unceremoniously. Ink jumped into the air, higher than even she thought possible, catching her before landing relatively-gracefully to the floor behind the Bakuko, on one bent knee.

"B-baku..bak..." the creature murmured, sounding sleepy as the mark faded away. In another blast of light, the monster vanished, leaving the volleyball net in its place, lying harmlessly on the ground.

"C-Crap!" the girl cried, hands at her chest. The smoke and glow appeared behind her again as she ducked inside. "Aw, man, Gachan's not gonna be happy about this!"

Ink just stood there, breathing heavily for a few moments until a a smile began appearing on her face. "We did it..." she breathed, then laughed out loud, throwing her hands in the air and grabbing Twirl's hands in her own. "We did it! I knew two people could do it! We're incredible, Cure Twirl!"

"I...I still don't quite get what's going on," Twirl muttered, looking thoroughly embarrassed. She sighed. "But...as long as nothing else happens to the gym..."

"Well, boy are you gonna have fun!" Kaana cried, suddenly appearing on her shoulder. "We've got so much to tell you!"

Twirl stared blankly at the little thing, then turned her gaze back to Ink, still holding her hands, and a very-excited Mari. "The snakes though...I think are gonna be the hardest for me to get used to."

Kaana looked rather indignant as Fumie laughed.

* * *

**ED: "Lead Me There" - YUME featuring Mari**

* * *

**ON THE NEXT EPISODE:**  
Kurako: "Well, I still can't say I understand fully, but..."  
Fumie: No time to worry about that now, Kurako! We're still not a solid-enough group, and-uwaaah, food!  
Hisa: Fumie, please focus!  
Aoi: Uhm, excuse me, I just received a strange message...  
Fumie: Next time on Pretty Cure Bukatsudo Energetic: The Spice of Life! Cure Spice Taste-Test! Don't be late for next meeting!


	3. Chapter 3

The sun filtered in through the window, filling the dorm room with soft yellow. A tiny red alarm clock started jangling, and a slim, fair hand sneaked out from beneath pale pink bedsheets, the owner grunting tiredly before gently hitting the button to silence the clock. "Hmmm..." A teenage girl sat up, eyes closed as she scratched her cheek. "Nnn...Kurako?"

No answer. She must already be at practice for today.

Aoi yawned as she swung her feet over the floor, then shuffled out of bed. _Bathroom...shower..._

Ten minutes later, the bathroom door opened and a more awake Aoi stepped out, clad in her pajamas and toweling her hair. "Phwah...that's better...Can't be sleepy today, today's important!" She grinned, grabbing her uniform off its hanger on the door. Something shiny fell out of the sleeve, catching her attention. "Hn?"

Aoi crouched down, picking up the delicate thing in her fingers. It was so small, yet it had such a strong shine to it..."Looks like a diamond," she mumbled to herself. "But how'd a diamond get in here?" Maybe Kurako dropped it.

"I'll return it to her when we meet again," she told herself, dropping it in her uniform's breast pocket.

* * *

**OP: "Purikyua Club" - Bukatsudo Four**

* * *

"Uwaaaaah, look at all this food!" Fumie cried, clapping her hands together, starring starry-eyed. Mari and Kurako swore they could see a pink background of heart bokeh behind her.

The three of them stood in the classroom that the cooking club was held in. It was lunchtime right now, and the cooking club had their own little...buffet? Carnival?...set up, with stacks of bento on desks, some desks pushed together to hold various dishes, the whole classroom sectioned off into areas of food type. Most members of the cooking club wanted to go into the culinary field in the future, and they had to refine their skills while they were still in school, before going to a cooking school, that is. So they were holding a special event today, offering tastes of their food for criticism from their fellow, non-cooking students.

And right now, the trio were standing in front of a desk that held several dango.

"I don't know what I wanna try first!" Fumie squealed, hands on her cheeks as she surveyed the food. "The nikudango? Teppanyaki? Oooh, but the kinako looks good too! What do you think, Kurako?" she asked, turning to look at her new friend.

To both her and Mari's shock, the refined-looking Kurako stood there, calmly stuffing her face with one snack after another. Her cheeks puffed out a little as she shoved an entire skewer in her mouth, dragging it out clean. She began chewing, talking around her mouthful. "I think it's all delicious."

"U-Uhm...yeah, okay," Mari said, blinking as one corner of her mouth twitched a little. W-Wow...

Fumie, clearly seeing she wasn't going to get much help from Kurako, turned her attention back to the desk, and her eyes landed on a small pink bento box. "Ohhh, fish croquettes~" she sang, grabbing a plastic fork. "One of these is not like the other~"

Kurako suddenly choked, gasping as she pounded her chest and reached out a hand. _"N-No, Fumie, don't-!"_

It was too late. Fumie, a wide smile on her face, shoved a piece of croquette in her mouth, making a tiny "nom" sound as she did so. She shut her eyes contentedly as she chewed twice. Then her eyes snapped open, smile vanishing as her entire face suddenly turned red.

The cry of _**"HAAAAAAWWWWWWWT!"**_ could be heard all over the floor.

* * *

**TODAY'S EPISODE: The Spice of Life! Cure Spice Taste-Test!**

* * *

Fumie sat in a chair in the next room, guzzling down a water bottle, her coloring slowly returning to normal. Mari and Kurako watched in amusement as she gasped loudly, snapping her head forward and lowering the bottle. "I thought...gonna die...oh God..."

"I'm sorry, miss," Aoi said, hands clasped in front of her. She bowed her head sadly, eyes closed. "I should have hidden my lunch better...then no one would have had to suffer."

"At least is was Fumie who took the first bite and not someone else," Kurako couldn't help joking, a hand covering her tiny smile. "It's not your fault, Aoi, you can't supervise your bento _all_ the time."

Fumie lifted her head at that, wiping her mouth. "Eh, you know each other?"

"Of course," Kurako said, as if it were obvious. She held her hand out at Aoi, as if she were a girl on a TV game show, showing off a new car. "This is my roommate and best friend, Aoi Wada. Aoi, these two are Mari and Fumie, my...my acquaintances."

_"Acquaintances?!_ After all we've been through, we're just acquaintances?!"

Kurako shot her a warning look, which luckily went unnoticed by Aoi as the older girl chuckled behind her hand. "My my, Kurako has chosen such a lively girl to be her new friend! I'm glad."

Fumie shot the dark-haired girl a triumphant look. "See? 'Friend!' So ha!"

"_One_ person saying so doesn't make it true."

"Oh, come on!"

Mari turned to Aoi as the other two bickered in the background. "So! Miss Aoi, do you have any non-spicy things to eat?"

"Oh, sure!" Aoi smiled, placing a hand on Mari's shoulder as the two walked back to the other classroom, leaving the other two girls behind. "I'll show you the cream puff table; you'll love that one."

Far-off and yet quite near, in a darkened room, things were far less cheerful. Four people stood in the empty, featureless room, their reflections visible in the pitch-black floor. At the moment, only two were in the light; one being Fureyaa and the other being a red-haired girl with long twintails and odango. She wore a blue leotard and purple stockings beneath a purple top with multiple coattails lines in red, with red tear-drops on each one. She wore short blue boots, the tops and soles red. Her jewelry, earrings and a choker set, were admittedly rather gaudy, being large prisms that looked rather heavy, the earrings being deep purple and the choker's gem being magenta. She wore a gold monocle over her left eye, tiny rubies inset in it. And, like her fellow cringing teammate, she had a black mark shaped like a keyhole over her chest.

"We_ said_ we were sorry," she whined, looking pitifully at the other two.

"Sorry's not good enough!" raged the other female, a tall, slender woman in a deep red qípáo, cut short, and red thigh-highs over black tights. Her own keyhole was on top of a black Roman cross on her chest, two hair ornaments of the same cross-shape on either side of and behind her head with black beads hanging from them. Her icy blue eyes flashed, long white hair disheveled as she lunged forward, pulling the other's twintails. "I can't believe you two!" she snapped, ignoring the other's cries of pain. "_How_ easy is it to take out two little kids, huh? It happened before with no problem!"

"Well, maybe if Fureyaa hadn't run away from the first one and just finished her off, we wouldn't need to worry about more than one girl!" Kemuri, the younger girl, retorted, shooting Fureyaa an accusing stare as she pulled away. Fureyaa just looked away and whistled innocently.

"Oh, yeah!" The older woman, called Chuusha, rounded on him next, putting him in a headlock and noogie-ing him hard before he could react. "You and your stupid honor code! Stupid, stupid, stupid-!"

"Chuusha." A gloved hand rested on the woman's shoulder, and she found herself staring into a grinning harlequin mask. The owner's face was completely unseen, but the rest of the group was used to that, frankly. Gachan shook his head solemnly, and with a loud, long-suffering sigh, Chuusha let go of Fureyaa, who ran back to Kemuri and hid behind her.

"I am...as upset by this as you are," Gachan intoned quietly. "But we mustn't turn on each other. We have to press forward, for the good of _her_, is that not correct?"

Even Chuusha looked guilty there, and all three of them flicked their gaze towards the door nearby, shrouded in dark mist. "Y-yeah..."

"Besides..." Gachan went on, catching their attention again. "There are only two of them, and four of us. They don't even seem to have a full grasp of their abilities, if what Fureyaa and Kemuri have said is any indication." The two youngest members of the group puffed their chests out at that. "So we still have a good chance against them."

The two younger nodded enthusiastically, while Chuusha merely folded her arms and glared at some random spot on the floor.

Gachan sighed. "And Chuusha, if you believe you can do better than these two, then by all means, do."

Chuusha grinned with her teeth bared rather nastily, throwing her teammates a triumphant yet dangerous grin, and a familiar portal appeared behind her. "Leave it to me!" she snickered, and then she was gone.

* * *

"Ah, Kurako, before I forget..." Aoi said, reaching inside her desk and pulling out another bento. "I brought you your lunch. You left without it again."

Kurako squeaked, face turning an interesting shade of red as she lunged forward, trying to hide the box before the other two could see. But it was too late; Fumie and Mari were already tittering behind their hands.

"It's...Kurako, you have a _Good Morning, Kitty-Cat_! bento? I didn't think you were the type!" Fumie laughed.

Kurako's face turned even redder as she held the box behind her back, stomping her foot in indignation as tears gathered in her eyes. "H-hey! It was a gift-I _like Good Morning, Kitty-Cat!_-It's an old box and I don't want a new one!" she sputtered, naming one excuse after another. Only the second one was actually true. _What's wrong with _Good Morning, Kitty-Cat!_ anyway?! She's adorable!_ "Quit laughing, both of you! Stop right now!"

"Come on, girls..." Aoi sighed, stepping forward and placing one hand on Kurako's shoulder, another on Fumie's. "Stop this now." Despite her stern-sounding words, there was no hard edge to her tone at all. She sounded as gentle and pleasant as usual. She smiled sweetly, looking between the two. "Miss Fumie, it's not nice to make fun of people's likes. Kurako, don't be embarrassed by your bento, and you shouldn't let Miss Fumie get to you. And as for myself...maybe I should have given you the box in private. I'm sorry," she sighed.

The other three immediately stopped what they were doing, be it laughing or demanding the other two cease laughing. Fumie stared at Aoi, cheeks tinting a bit as she ducked her head in mild shame. Wow. The bespectacled girl really knew how to lay on the guilt, even if she didn't mean it. Of course, the motherly way she said it probably helped.

Kurako cleared her throat before Fumie could say anything. "It's alright, Aoi. It was my fault; I got carried away." She straightened her back, locking eyes with Fumie. "Strong-hearted girls don't deny their hearts, right?"

"H-hey, what does that even_ mean?"_

"Please girls, don't start this again..."

Unseen the any human in the room, Kaana and Hisa sat coiled inside a desk, watching the girls. Or rather, their legs. Kaana looked over at her sister, who looked like she was trying to shoot lasers from her eyes and melt the cake display across the room. "Big sister, I'm hungry," she whined.

"Shush."

"But big sister-"

"I said _shush._"

Kaana whined, lowering her head against the desk's 'floor.' "It's not fair...Fumie found another Pretty Cure yesterday, and it's still not enough...Then to make matters worse, we have to keep a tab on her, which means we're in here, _surrounded_ by food, and it's making me hungryyyyy..." she whined.

She got a snack on top of her head by Hisa's tail-tip for that. "Kaana, I told you, you should have eaten before we left! And I think reviving the princess, not to mention the fate of everyone in our world, is more important than your empty belly!"

Kaana sniffled, pouting. "So mean..."

Before they could say anything else, they suddenly heard Aoi's voice. "Oh, hold on, I have snacks for you guy, too!" And then her hand went into the desk.

Aoi smiled gently as she rummaged around. "I had made extra for myself, but I'm more than happy to share with...Kurako's...new...friends?" Her voice grew quieter until it more resembled a squeak than anything, as her eyes widened behind her glasses. Slowly, trembling slightly, she pulled her hand out...

...and saw that she'd grabbed Kaana and Hisa along with the little confectionery bags.

For a moment, all was still. Aoi had frozen in place, Mari and Kurako stiffened, and Fumie swallowed. It seemed like all other noise in the classroom dulled to a faint roar. Fumie stepped forward, mouth twitching nervously. "U-Uhm...Miss Aoi, that-"

**_GYAAAAAAAH!"_**

Everyone in the room gasped and turned to look at Aoi, who had started frantically shaking her arm in every direction. _"GETOFFGETOFFGETOFFGETOFF-!"_

With faint cries, Kaana and Hisa went flying-Fumie running forward to catch Hisa in her hands, Kurako catching Kaana. Both snakes slid under the girls' sleeves as Aoi, still screaming, ran from the room. Amazingly, she still held onto the home-made candies.

* * *

**Eyecatch 1:** Fumie stands at an easel, tongue poking out slightly as she carefully dabs some paint onto the canvas. Satisfied, she steps back and spins the easel around to reveal a watercolor of Cure Ink, the PCBE logo where a signature should be.  
**Eyecatch 2:** Kurako, Aoi, Kotone, Mari, Uta, Kaana and Hisa all sit down on the floor, watching Fumie. Fumie stands at a podium and bangs a rubber gavel, calling the club meeting to order. The PCBE logo appears in the corner.

* * *

"Ah...a-ha..." Aoi struggled to catch her breath, leaning against the wall in an empty classroom. Her cheeks were red as she swallowed a few times and tried to calm her racing heart. How humiliating...She hadn't meant to make such a fool of herself, but those two snakes-and out of _nowhere_-and how did they even get inside the classroom, much less in her_ desk?_

She shook her head, trying to regain control. Aoi lifted her hands, staring at the candies she'd made. "I didn't even give the girls their candy...Kurako would understand, but the other girls...and what if they tease Kurako because her roommate is-Oh, Kurako..." she sniffled, head bowing again.

"Is there a problem?"

"H-huh?" Aoi looked up, staring directly into the ice-blue eyes of Chuusha. She felt her face heat up a little as she took in the older woman's outfit. That certainly wasn't according to school regulations! "N-no, no problem!"

Chuusha grinned, cat-like. "_I_ have a problem~" she said, one hand reaching up to cover her heart. She didn't feel the pain Fureyaa had described when he'd been near one, but there was definitely a tickle there..."You see, young lady, I believe you have something of mine, and I'd like it back."

"Something...something of yours?" Aoi blinked. She wracked her brain to remember if she'd picked up anything recently-then the memory of that morning came rushing back. Picking something shining and fragile off the floor and pocketing..._"Oh!_ The diamond piece-?"

"A-o-iiiii~!" The door opened just then, Fumie and Kurako entering the room, Mari behind them. She held the snakes in her arms as she followed at a reasonable, slow pace, not wanting to scare the older girl. "Aoi, it's okay, they're ni-whoa, who are you?" Fumie asked.

Chuusha growled as she straightened her spine and pulled away from Aoi, her eyes landing on the snakes._ "You!"_

"You!" Kaana gasped, Hisa snarled.

_"Th-they talk, too?"_ Aoi squeaked.

Chuusha grit her teeth. Damn, Pretty Cure wasn't supposed to show up just yet! She had to get the Dream Shard first, then dispose of them! Trying to keep her temper in check, she reached between her breasts, pulling out a place sheet of paper. Never mind...mixing it up a little never hurt anyone~ "I wanted to wait til later to kill your precious warriors and take the charm back," Chuusha began, speedily folding the paper into a crane, one-handed. "But if you're in such a hurry to die, that's fine by me! Go, Bakuko!" she shouted, flinging the crane towards one of the student-ovens.

The crane settled on one of the burners, and the oven was surrounded by a black aura. Then, before everyone's eyes, it had became a giant, monstrous version of itself, long spindly legs emerging from the bottom, the oven door wide open like a mouth, angry eyes and burners blazing fire. _"Bakuuu!"_

"Wh-what in the name of-?!" Aoi gasped, hands over her mouth.

"Aoi, run away!" Kurako shouted as she and Fumie ran to guard her. "We'll get this one!"

"Pretty Cure~ Show my future!"

"Painting the world with new tints, Cure Ink!"

"Spinning with grace and strength, Cure Twirl!"

"Protecting everyone's dreams, Pretty Cure Bukatsudo Energetic!"

Aoi stood there in shock at the sight of her transformed roommate and her transformed new friend. "Wh-what is...?"

The Bakuko glared down at Pretty Cure, fire suddenly flaring up as it roared at them. "Bakuuuuuu!"

Ink swallowed. "Okay, we should have thought of a plan before transforming..."

"Miss Aoi, we should leave!" Mari cried, tugging the older girl along by the wrist.

"B-but we can't leave them alone-!"

"They're Pretty Cure! They'll be fine!" Hisa snapped, ignoring Aoi's sudden paling and whine of terror. "Well, _Twirl_ will, I can't say the same about Ink-"

"Not so fast!" Chuusha snarled, racing towards them. She grabbed Aoi by her other wrist, pulling her closer as she thrust her heel into Mari's gut and kicked her away. The other girl slid across the floor to the other side of the room, wheezing as the wind was knocked out of her. Twirl and Ink, too busy trying not to get burned by the Bakuko's fire, couldn't do anything.

"Miss Mari!" Aoi cried out, jerking forward in Chuusha's grip, as if to run to her.

"Give. Me. That. Dream Shard!" Chuusha snapped, shaking Aoi as she lifted her by the wrist.

"No!" Aoi shook her head frantically, keeping her grip on the bags of candy. "I don't even know what you're talking about! B-but I _do_ know this." Her frightened expression slowly shifted into an angry one, mouth set in a thin, grim line as she leveled her gaze on Chuusha. "I do know this," she repeated. "You are most assuredly _not_ a good person, and whatever it is you're looking for that I have, I would _never_ give it to you! Even if I did know what you wanted, you would never get it!"

Chuusha, who'd already looked pretty shocked when Aoi had actually glared at her, looked positively livid now. "Y-you...you're denying what's rightfully mine, you little brat?!"

"I don't know or particularly care if it's yours or not! The minute you threatened my friends, you completely cross the line!"

"Why you-!" Chuusha lifted a hand to to strike her...

...and a glow came from somewhere within Aoi's apron-pocket as a high-pitched _Pipipipipipipipipi..._ filled the air.

Chuusha gasped and shielded her eyes, dropping the glasses-girl to the floor. "What-what the-?!"

"Another one!" Hisa gasped, slithering away from Mari, who sat wide-eyed and amazed on the floor. Ignoring Aoi's (admittedly rather old) squeak of fear, she came closer. "Aoi! Do you want to help your friend?"

"Y-yes..."

"Then just do what I tell you..." Hisa began. Aoi listened intently, mouth closing as her eyebrows lowered into a frown, and she nodded.

Meanwhile, with the Bakuko, Twirl was currently leaping over its top. "Pretty Cure...Grace Hurricane!" The oven Bakuko only growled, and her attacks landed in the burners, making the fires larger. "Augh!" she cried in frustration.

"Not good, not good, not good!" Ink cried, even as she ran up behind the monster and gave it a solid kick to the back. "C'mon, you big lug, get down already!"

_**"Hey!"**_

Pretty Cure and Bakuko turned to see Aoi, standing in the middle of the room, her personal computer in her hands. "You two," she began, glaring from the Bakuko to Chuusha. "Need to learn to respect kitchens!"

_C. U. R. E. Okay!_

"Pretty Cure! Show my Future!"

Aoi stood in the center of a pale yellow void, pastel green ribbons of light swirling around her as her clothes disintegrated into butter-yellow light. She squeaked voicelessly as her glasses started to float off and away from her face, grabbing them and bringing them back down over her eyes as her arms glowed and her hair fell out of its braids. The lights exploded off of her arms and torso, revealing a pale yellow long-sleeved top with a high collar, green lace along the top. Pale green ribbons of light came to wrap around her shoulders and wrists, gathering the fabric in the shoulders and causing the part of her wrist to flare out. More yellow light gathered around her lower half, and Aoi closed her eyes and smiled serenely as she gathered a corner in her hand, dipping into a half-curtsy and sticking one leg out just slightly. As she did so, the light exploded away to reveal a butter-yellow full skirt, pale green thigh-highs with darker green ribbon trim, and green Mary Janes.

She gently placed her fingertips at the crown of her head, light gathering there, and swiftly swept her hands down her front. Light followed her hands and exploded away to reveal a pale yellow lacy headband, light green frilled apron, and yellow belt where the PreCure PC became the buckle. A yellow heart emblem with green ribbon sprang out over her chest as her hair lengthened, curled and became rose-pink.

Aoi smiled, opening her now purple eyes as she moved her hands back and forth, as if using salt and pepper shakers.  
"Adding flavor and zest to life, Cure Spice!"

"Another one already?!" Chuusha cried. "And a _kitchen_ one?! You've got to be _kidding_ me!"

Cure Spice faced the Bakuko, feet apart and hands clenched into fists. "You, my friend," she began, adjusting her glasses. "Are a mockery of my favorite thing! And_ you_ created him!" She turned on Chuusha.

"Oh no, the kitchen girl is mad at me," Chuusha intoned, sounding rather bored. She rolled her eyes and lifted her hands. "Aaah, whatever shall i do?" she deadpanned.

Just then Ink appeared out of nowhere, kneeing her right in the gut. Chuusha doubled over, gasping for air. "Well, for starters, you could pay attention to what's in front of you!"

"You brat, that's cheating!" Chuusha gasped.

"Iiiink!" Twirl shouted. "A little help!"

"Go, Ink, I'll get this woman!" Spice snapped. She brought her thumb and index fingertips together, kissing the spot where they met before tapping them against the heart emblem. Raising her hand to the air, a bright yellow sphere of light appeared over them, steadily expanding and illuminating Spice's features. "Pretty Cure...Flavor Bomb!" She flung the attack down at Chuusha, the light exploding and filling the space where she and her target stood.

Twirl, meanwhile, looked over at her teammate. "Ink, I've got an idea!"

"I'm listening!"

"Your attack has Splash in the name, right? The Bakuko has fire..."

Fumie's eyes went wide as she realized what her partner was saying. Yeah, that was it! And this wasn't anything like the net Bakuko-this one would surely hit the first time! "Roger-roger~!" she cheered. "Pretty Cure...Color Splash!"

The attack landed right inside the fiery "mouth," and the Bakuko made a sound that sounded rather like a strangled gasp. Its eyes widened as it stiffened, gasping out "B-Baku-!" Then it started to droop, looking more sleepy than startled, murmuring one more "bakuko...baku..." before the keyhole mark on the timer faded away. In another burst of light, it was a normal oven once more.

Chuusha, meanwhile, struggled to her feet, grinning wickedly. "Y-you beat my monster, but you think that hurt?" she snickered. "You've never faced an enemy who _can't_ feel pain, have you? And I may be out of paper, but I can still-!"

The vortex appeared behind her just then, and a male voice echoed from it. "Chuusha! Nocturna is requesting your presence. Return home now!"

Chuusha clicked her tongue, glaring at the vortex as if it was its own fault before glaring at the girls. "You lucked out...til next time, little girls~" she smirked, ducking into the vortex and disappearing.

Spice stared grimly at the spot where Chuusha had once stood for a few moments before she suddenly fell forward with a loud, surprised cry. Ink had jumped on her back, arms wrapped around her neck. "Yaaaaaay~! A new teammate, and best of all, she's got bomb attacks! Cure Spice, I'm gonna love you!"

Twirl helped Mari to her feet, holding her steady as she caught her breath. She laughed nervously, fixing her roommate with an apologetic smile. "I am truly sorry, Spice..."

"N-no problem," Spice chuckled, trying to be heard over Ink's constant "YAY"s and giggles. "I'm already taking care of you everywhere else, I've no problem doing so in a battle as well..."

"Even if you're afraid of snakes?" Kaana asked innocently, leaning down from her perch on Spice's head to look at her upside-down.

_"GYAAAAAAH!"_

* * *

**ED: "Lead Me There" - YUME featuring Mari**

* * *

**ON THE NEXT EPISODE:**  
**Fumie:** Three already! We're becoming a force to be reckoned with!  
**Kurako:** I dunno, three might still not be enough...  
**Fumie:** "Ugh, I'm getting sick of your pessimism!-Whoa, hey, what's that sound?  
**Kotone:** "Everybody look what's goin down~  
**Fumie:** "Er, anyway-Next time on Pretty Cure Bukatsudo Energetic: To The Beat Of My Own Drum! A Rockin' Cure! Don't be late for next meeting!


	4. Chapter 4

_"Princess! The last wave has been breached! We have to go!" A tanned, tall woman, most of her obscured in shadow, ran into a large, dimly-lit room. The main source of light came from the brilliant heart-shaped diamond floating above a pedestal. In front of the pedestal stood Himemiya, princess of Dream Peaks. When she made no response, the female soldier, stepped forward, a hand outstretched. "Princess-Princess, we have to go!"_

_Himemiya never once tore her gaze away from the crystal. her slim, dark hands rested on it protectively, as if the thing were a small child clinging to her royal skirts. Her lips pressed together in a thin line, she shook her head. "I can't do that..."_

_"Wh-what? What are you saying, Princess? If something happens to you, it's all over!"_

_"Not to me...To the Dream Charm." Finally, she lifted her head, eyes closed resolutely as she sighed. "Hisa...I need you to do something for me."_

_Even in teh direness of the situation, the woman-Hisa-dropped to one knee and briefly inclined her head. "Yes."_

_"Do you remember the stories of Pretty Cure?"_

_"Yes."_

_"I need you to take the Dream Charm and flee to Earth. Find Pretty Cure, and let them protect the Dream Charm. Send them here to help us." She lifted the charm away from the pedestal, the glow illuminating her face from below and obscuring her eyes as she turned and approached the soldier. "Don't let anything happen to it. Can I trust you with that?"_

_"Big sister!" A smaller figure ran into the room, her thick braids bouncing behind her. She skidded to a halt, panting heavily and holding her side. "Big sister, they're almost here! We have to do something!"_

_Himemiya swept past Hisa before the other woman could react, withdrawing a pouch from her skirts and dropping the charm inside. She tied the pouch around Kaana's neck like a choker. "Both of you, please. Don't worry about me-I'll be fine." Before she could say much more, there was a deafening explosion, and the entire room shook, dust falling from the ceiling. The large picture window shattered-_

_"Princess!" Hisa screeched, rising to her feet and rushing towards her._

Hisa's eyes snapped open, never mind the fact that she shouldn't have had her eyes closed in the first place. But then, she wasn't an ordinary, or even a real, snake. Shakily, she sat up, head inclined as she looked down at the drawer of Fumie's bureau. Himemiya, a lifeless doll, was in there. Hisa's eyes started shining a bit with unshed tears. She'd wanted to protect her, protect the Dream Charm...

And she couldn't help feeling like she had utterly failed.

* * *

**OP: "Purikyua Club" - Bukatsudo Four**

* * *

"Hooray for the weekend!" Fumie cheered, pumping her fists into the air.

She, Aoi, and Kurako were on their way to the rooftop. And in order to get there, they had to go up to the top floor, so of course they were on the stairs right now. Aoi had made breakfast boxes for everyone, and Kurako had wanted to eat on the roof, and then Fumie had declared that since they were a team, they should all go. Mari wasn't able to make it, due to cheerleading practice, but Fumie had put her box in the minifridge so she could eat it later.

"After eating, we should all go to town! Like, we can go to LumiCafe and eat lunch there, and throw coins in the fountain, and play crane games-"

"Fumie, there is a such thing as too much activity," Kurako muttered, eyes shut in annoyance.

Aoi just laughed, patting her shoulder. "Kurako, we've such a lively friend."

"She's a friend?" Kurako muttered, eyes opening as she frowned. "I'm not so sure about that..."

Aoi's smile faded as she watched Kurako look away, gaze fixed on her feet. She squeezed the younger girl's shoulder reassuringly, and was about to say something when-

"H-hey, wait a sec...is it just me or is the floor quivering?" Fumie asked suddenly as they reached the landing on their way to the fourth floor.

"Nope, it's not just you," Kurako said, frowning lightly.

"Oh, don't mind them, please," Aoi smiled, waving a hand dismissively as she continued up. "It's just the Suzuki twins."

The other two blinked, tilting their heads in unison. "Suzuki twins?" Fumie suddenly gasped, smacking her fist into her open palm. "Oh! You mean Misses Uta and Kotone! Kotone's in one of my classes! But," she added with another frown. "But what do you mean, it's them-"

"TWO, THREE, FOUR, GO!" The entire floor suddenly erupted into music: the sound of a drumset being beaten upon, a cymbal clashing every now and then, and an electric guitar barely heard over it. Everyone shrieked, even Kurako though she'd later deny it, and covered their ears, gritting their teeth.

"What the-what are they doing?" snapped Kurako, struggling to be heard over the music. "Are they trying to deafen everyone?!"

"Well, everyone else seems to have less of a problem than we do!" Aoi shouted, uncovering her ear just long enough to point into the hallway. Everyone on the floor was walking around with looks of discomfort on their faces, but they didn't look like they were in pain, like our heroes were. At first Fumie thought they all must be partially-deaf already, but then she looked closer and noticed something. Every one of the students had yellow plugs in their ears.

"Ear-plugs! You lucky stiffs, give us some!" Kurako shouted, stepping further into the hallway until she was standing right in front of one of the doors. Abruptly, the electric guitar stopped playing, and the door she stood in front of opened, making the music a bit louder. A girl about Fumie's age, with bright purple hair tied into two small, thick ponytails that curled at the bottom, poked her head out.

"Pardon me, but would you mind lowering the volume? My sister can't concentrate on her music," she said, smiling cheerfully.

Kurako could only stand there and sputter as the other girls came up behind her, trying to see past the pig-tailed girl and into the room. Finally, she managed to shout _"WE_ NEED TO LOWER THE VOLUME?!"

* * *

**TODAY'S EPISODE: To The Beat Of My Own Drum! A Rockin' Cure!**

* * *

Kotone Suzuki sat at her drum set, brow furrowed in concentration as she shut her eyes tight. She was currently beating out a very long drumroll, the rest of the girls looking at her with varying expressions of curiosity and anticipation. Kurako, however, wore a look of supreme annoyance. Kotone paid no mind to her audience, leaning forward in her seat as she moved her hands faster and faster and faster...

_TSSSS!_

"Thank you!" Kotone shouted in English, raising both drumsticks into the air and standing up. Letting out a deep breath, she smiled triumphantly and gently set the drumsticks on her seat as she walked to where her sister and guests sat. In the room she shared with her sister, there were two loveseats on either side of a small coffee table; Fumie and Aoi sat on one of them, Uta and Kurako on the other. Kurako had the bad luck of being the one Kotone flopped next to. "Pheeew...that was a great start to the day, huh?" she smiled.

"I'll get drinks for everyone~" Uta sang as she went to the mini-fridge in the corner.

Kotone nodded, turning her attention to the rest of the group. "Sorry 'bout that. But I just love to start my day with good music, you know? It's like my own personal caffeine!"

"Doesn't mean the rest of your floor should suffer as well," Kurako sniffed, arms folded over her chest. Kotone just ignored her as Uta came back with cans of juice in her arms.

"Anyway...sorry to have wrecked your eardrums," she said, accepting the can her sister held out. She opened it and took a drink without checking what it was, then choked. "U-utaaaaa! I hate tea!" she whined, holding the can back out and shaking it a little.

Uta just laughed, switching it with her own drink-orange juice. "Sorry, sister. But yeah, we're both totally sorry," she smiled cheerfully. "It's just...well, our whole family's into the music business, and we can't stay away from our instruments or mics for too long. Even if it does leak out and everyone can hear, that's okay-we're sharing our music with the school!"

Aoi sipped her own juice, tilting her head quizzically. "But...But why not soundproof your room, then?"

"You can do that," the twins asked in one voice.

"Or hey," Fumie suddenly said, standing up. "You could have just asked to have a whole floor to yourself-it's this whole floor that can hear you; if you had it all to yourselves, then there'd be no problem."

Kotone shook her head, frowning a bit. "Yeah, no...See, it's not right.. it's like...Well, ya ever hear the story of the rooster? He thought his henhouse was too small, but I dunno why he had to sleep in there anyway because he should have been outside watching for the sun, but anyway, he thought it was too small for him. So the farmer let a rabbit move in, and then three chickens, then a cat, then a dog, and then a sheep. And then he let all of them out except for the rooster, and the rooster realized he had all the room he needed already. Anyway, the point is we don't need too much room, we're perfectly content with one room. What'd we do with the whole floor to ourselves anyway?"

No one said anything.

Kotone grinned with her teeth showing. "Exactly! So! What were you doing before you came to see my performance?"

* * *

Nocturna could barely keep her eyes open, breathing raspy as she leaned her head against Gachan's hand. The tall man rested his other hand on her head protectively as Chuusha rested two fingers on the frail girl's wrist, frowning. All was quiet.

Behind them, Fureyaa and Kemuri peeked in from the doorway, glancing at each other for a moment before returning their attention to the scene before them. Chuusha finally stood up, causing them to duck back out, said a few unintelligible words to Gachan, then stalked out. She wore a look of immense anger on her face, muttering to herself, and was so lost in her own rage she went right past Fureyaa and Kemuri.

Fureyaa jogged after her. "Chuusha, how's she doing?"

Chuusha snarled, suddenly whipping around and backhanding the boy. She ignored his sharp cry as he fell to the floor, looking at him as if he were something on the bottom of her shoe. "Shut up!" she snapped, turning around again and vanishing into darkness.

Kemuri knelt down to help Fureyaa to his feet as he rubbed his stinging cheek. "I guess she's not any better..."

"Guess not..." he mumbled. "I can see why, though...Without the Dream Charm, she's just...down and out." Kemuri frowned, biting at her thumb. "She's like Antoinette from "City Nightlife," when she was in the hospital and needed the operation but no one would let her have it because they thought she was really her evil twin sister!"

Fureyaa stared blankly for a few moments. "...Kemuri, I think you should stop watching these human shows," he sighed. "But you're right about the Dream Charm. If we can only get more of the Dream Shards..."

"Is that a proposal for action?" Kemuri grinned, exposing her teeth wickedly.

"It certainly is," Fureyaa answered, eyes gleaming a bit.

* * *

**Eyecatch 1:** Fumie stands at an easel, tongue poking out slightly as she carefully dabs some paint onto the canvas. Satisfied, she steps back and spins the easel around to reveal a watercolor of Cure Ink, the PCBE logo where a signature should be.  
**Eyecatch 2:** Kurako, Aoi, Kotone, Mari, Uta, Kaana and Hisa all sit down on the floor, watching Fumie. Fumie stands at a podium and bangs a rubber gavel, calling the club meeting to order. The PCBE logo appears in the corner.

* * *

"So...we came here to eat breakfast, stopped to deal with two very noisy girls...and that was all that was supposed to happen. So why did we pick up two more people for our lunch-date?" Kurako grumbled, looking out the corner of her eye at the Suzuki twins. All of them sat in a circle on the roof, breakfast boxes open, munching happily. Kotone just smiled and waved nonchalantly at Kurako, she stiffened and hastily looked away. "Really, how did this happen?"

Fumie shrugged her shoulders, beaming around her mouthful of omelet. "I dunno-something about Aoi making great food, the girls wanting to try, and then I said 'the more the merrier.' You were too busy sulking to notice," she giggled.

Kurako bristled. "I was not sulking!"

"Uhm, 'scuse me..."

Kurako turned, about to snap What? when she saw an apologetic-looking Uta leaning over, smiling sheepishly. She couldn't stay mad at a face like that..."Uh, yes?"

Uta fidgeted, voice dropping to a whisper. "Well...it's just that Miss Aoi's breakfast is too hot for me, Miss Fumie is sharing with Kotone, and...well, I don't wanna be a bother..." She trailed off, eyes darting from Kurako's face to her breakfast box and back. Still smiling nervously, as if she were afraid she'd be shot down and have to either go hungry or eat a spicy fish croquet.

Kurako blinked, glancing down at her own barely-touched breakfast. "Oh. uhm, yeah...sure..." she mumbled, holding her food out. The grateful smile Uta flashed her before she dug in with her spork made Kurako's face heat up a bit. "You're welcome?" She didn't notice the triumphant look Aoi shot her.

Unnoticed by all, the dark vortex appeared on another part of the building. It flashed, faded to reveal Fureyaa and Kemuri crouching and overlooking the girls. "That's them?" Kemuri asked.

"Well, three of them are...not the other two. The ones who look alike."

"Well, too bad for them then." Kemuri abruptly stood up, hastily holding a Dream-Eating Crane and positioning it in her hands. She ignored Fureyaa's shocked cry, blowing it away...

...and it fell onto one of the spare sporks.

"Go-go, Bakuko!" Kemuri shouted as the black aura surrounded the spork, and it started to expand and shift.

Kotone was the first to notice something was wrong. "W-what the-?!" she cried out, standing up suddenly and taking a step back. "What's wrong with me-"

"Oh no, not again!" Fumie whined as she and the others stood as well, face to face with a Bakuko. "And so early in the day?!"

The Bakuko, looking like nothing more than a giant version of the spork with angry eyes and a keyhole mark on the concave, screeched, leaning forward. "Bakuuu! Bak-?!" Its cry was cut short as the lid to a breakfast box smacked its head. Roaring angrily, it swiveled around to glare at Kotone, who was still posed in her "throwing" move, glaring right back at it. "Baku?!"

"M-Miss Kotone!" Kurako cried in shock and horror, stepping in front of her. "Don't get involved! We can take this!"

"'Take this...?'" Uta echoed, trembling slightly.

Urgh, didn't wanna do this, but here goes! Fumie thought, pulling out her PreCure PC.

"Pretty Cure! Show my future!"  
"Painting the world with new tints, Cure Ink!"  
"Spinning with grace and strength, Cure Twirl!"  
"Adding flavor and zest to life, Cure Spice!"  
"Protecting everyone's dreams, Pretty Cure Bukatsudo Energetic!" the three of them declared, striking a pose.

"Bakuko-baku!" the monster cried, swiftly twisting its body around. Before the girls knew what was happening, a multitude of sharp spikes were sent flying at them. They scattered, Fumie screaming a bit, and the spikes embedded themselves in the roof. "Bakuuu!"

Kemuri stood up, laughing behind her hand. "Ohohoho! This one's gonna be easy! Fureyaa, I tell you, we'll have the Dream Charm in no time now!"

Fureyaa wasn't listening, instead nervously scanning over the so far one-sided battle. The Bakuko kept on sending wave after wave of sharp spikes, not giving Pretty Cure a chance to attack. That part he didn't mind so much. But...

"Bakuuu!" the Bakuko shrieked again, an edge of triumphant laughter in its voice, as it send out another wave...and several were headed right Uta. She covered her face, screaming in terror-

-Fureyaa jumped-

"Utaaa!" Kotone screamed.

Uta curled up, trembling for a few moments before she realized that nothing was happening. She peeked between her fingers, lowering her hands with a slight gasp as she saw Fureyaa standing in front of her, his back to the Bakuko, edges of his cape gathered in his hands. He stood there, eyes shut, gritting his teeth. The spikes had landed against his cape, quivering on their points for a moment before falling ineffectually to the ground. He let out a sigh of relief, opening his eyes and smiling nervously at Uta. "Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah," Uta nodded.

Fureyaa turned around, making sure to stay in front of Uta, wrapping his cape around himself in case another wave came their way. "Kemuri! Leave civilians out of it!"

"My bad!" she shouted back nonchalantly.

"No." Kotone stepped forward, glaring at the Bakuko again, taking it by surprise. Pretty Cure stopped their dodging temporarily, trying to catch their breath. "There is no 'my bad!' Not about this! You attacked my sister, you attacked my new friends, and me! We were supposed to have a get-to-know-you breakfast, and you totally ruined it! I don't know what's going on, but you never attack my friends, old or new!"

Twirl turned her head, slight surprise on her face. "...friends?" she whispered.

"And I don't care if they're some kinda warrior and I'm not-the second you threaten my friends, I'm in too!" Kotone snapped, arms spread.

A faint glow suddenly emitted from her jeans-pocket. _Pipipipipipipipipipi..._

Kotone winced, shielding her eyes from the light as she reached into her pocket to grab her personal computer. "Wh-what is..."

Kemuri smirked. "Not a civilian no more!" she cackled. "Bakuko, get her!"

"Bakuuuu!" it screeched. But rather than send another wave of spikes at her, it tried a new tactic: twisting and lashing out its body. Kotone, unfortunately, was too close to the guard-rail, and as she tried to run...

...the Bakuko smacked into her...

...and she fell over the railing, eyes wide.

"M-MISS KOTONE!" Ink screamed.

Kotone blinked as she fell, then frowned, face a mask of determination. "No. You. Don't," she snarled, quickly flicking open her computer-now a PreCure PC.

**C. U. R. E. Okay!**

"Pretty Cure~ Show my future!"

Light purple and blue light exploded and spiraled out below her, and she seemed to be in a void of those same colors, sparks of purple light shooting around her as her clothes vanished and her body was bathed in light. Kotone smirked, swinging one leg out to make herself spin around, crouching low before jumping into the air again. As she did so, the sparks flew faster and faster around her torso, finally exploding away to reveal a light blue, long-sleeved shirt that split around the waist and fanned out behind her. She clapped her hands together in front of her chest before moving them to place her fingertips at her temples and closing her eyes.

She stomped her legs a few times, snapping her ankles together once as the sparks of light surrounded her legs. They attached to her, then exploded off to show her light purple pants with darker purple hems, dark purple socks, and light purple Mary Janes with blue circular jewels on the straps. Her eyes, now ice-blue, opened as she swung her arms in a circle in front of her, gathering the light to herself and allowing them to form her purple jacket and heart emblem with ribbon. Her hair suddenly lengthened, turning an icy purple shade, parting and twisting around itself til she had a long, thick braid tied with a light blue ribbon.

Back in the real world, the blue light suddenly flashed and faded away, the newest Cure leaping out of it with a cocky grin on her face. She successfully cleared the guard-rail, landing on her feet on the safety of the roof. Pretty Cure stared in awe before Ink began to smile. "A new teammate~" she squeed.

The Bakuko started to look nervous; perhaps he was regretting shoving her off the roof a moment ago. "B-baku...?"

The purple and clue Cure moved her hands as if she were pounding an invisible drum set before tapping a cymbal. "Drumming a new life's rhythm, Cure Beat!"

Now even Kemuri looked nervous. "Ohhh...I had no idea you could transform while falling..." she mumbled to herself.

Beat grinned, taking advantage of the stunned silence from her opponent, and the fact he wasn't moving right now. "Quit. Bothering. Us!" she cried, raising her hands into the air. Her fingers moved as if to grasp a pair of invisible drumsticks, and she brought her hands down, moving as if she were at her drum set again, performing the drum-roll. "Pretty Cure..." Pale purple light spiraled and gathered between her hands, forming the shape of a heart. "Drum-Roll Anticipation!" Thrusting her hands out as if pointing the drumsticks at the Bakuko, and the light shot out at it.

The purple, glowing heart struck the creature right on the keyhole mark, making the Bakuko stiffen in shock. "B-baku-!" it cried before slumping a bit, eyes drooping tiredly. "B-_bak..."_ The eyes closed, bright light surrounded it and flashed, and then all there was was a spork, lying harmlessly on the rooftop.

"Oh, come oooon!" Kemuri cried, stomping her foot. "Fureyaa, we gotta go!"

Fureyaa shot Uta an apologetic look, waved brightly at Pretty Cure, then leaped up to join Kemuri. Then they both ducked into the vortex, and vanished.

Cure Beat ran over to Uta, hugging her tightly. "Uta! Did you see me; I was so awesome!"

"You're great, sis!" Uta laughed, relief sweeping over her now that the monster was gone.

"H-hey, Koton-Cure Beat." Ink, Spice, and Twirl came over to her, Ink smiling brightly as she held her hand out. "'s'great to meet you! Welcome to Pretty Cure!"

Cure Beat looked between Ink's hand and her face a few times, then reached out to shake her hand. Or so it looked. When their hands joined, Beat squeezed and tugged her forward-Ink had grabbed Twirl and Twirl had grabbed Spice in attempts to not fall, and so Beat had gathered Pretty Cure into a group-hug. "Wahahaha! I totally knew we'd be friends!" she laughed, hugging them all tightly. "Good to meet you all!"

As Uta laughed and joined the hug, Twirl's face flushed red as she glanced at Spice. It's really this easy? she wondered.

Back in Fumie's room, Mari stepped in, sighing. "I'm back," she announced after taking a drink from a water bottle. "How were you guys?" she asked.

The snakes didn't answer.

"Hm?" Mari's cheerful look faded away as she took in Hisa's forlorn expression. "Hisa? You okay?"

Hisa just stared sadly at the plush princess.

"Princess, you're coming with us!" Hisa cried, grabbing Himemiya's hand and tugging her towards the vortex of light.

"Wh-what-" the princess gasped.

"The Dream Charm is important, but so are you!" Hisa declared as she and her sister leaped in, taking Himemiya with them. The light flashed and faded away just as another explosion outside shook the castle.

"Himemiya..." Hisa whispered, nudging the doll.

* * *

**ED: "Lead Me There" - YUME featuring Mari**

* * *

**ON THE NEXT EPISODE:**  
**Fumie:** Waauuugh, it's awful!  
**Kotone:** I knew that guy was bad news! He's a bad guy-I'm sure he's planning to kidnap my sister and hold her for ransom!  
**Kurako:** How can he do all that in their current state?  
**Aoi:** Guys, let's stop arguing and just watch where we step, okay? Next time on Pretty Cure Bukatsudo Energetic: The Incredible Shrinking People! Thumbel-Uta?! Don't be late for next meeting!


	5. Chapter 5

"Alright, now Miss Aoi, hold out the Dream Shard. Fumie, you hold out the chain," Hisa instructed.

All four girls sat around Fumie's bureau, Kaana and Hisa sitting on top of it. Both girls reached into their uniform pockets to withdraw their items and holding them out. Fumie held onto the chain and let it dangle; Aoi held the shard in her palm.

"Alright, good...now wait a minute..."

Even as Hisa said this, both the tiny chunk of the Dream Charm on the chain and the shard in Aoi's hand began to glow a soft, white light. Everyone sucked in their breath as the light steadily grew brighter, then suddenly flashed. And then there was nothing in Aoi's hand, and the Charm attached to the chain looked a bit bigger.

Hisa sighed in relief. "There...little by little, it's recovering."

"I still don't quite understand," Aoi said as Fumie dropped the Dream Charm in her pocket. "This charm and those shards are important, I can see that, but what are they?"

"And what do we have to do with it, exactly?" Kotone followed, arms folding as she leaned back in her chair. "I mean, transforming heroines, yeah, I kinda get that-I've seen enough mahou shoujo and sentai to know we have a mission. But none of us know exactly what it is."

Kaana looked over at Fumie, tilting her head in puzzlement. "You didn't tell them?" she asked.

Fumie laughed loudly, putting a hand behind her head. "Ahaha! W-Well, y'see I kinda-I kinda got a bit confused...So-"

"So you didn't listen," Hisa deadpanned, glaring at her. She sighed again, turning to look at each girl in turn. "Alright, let's get this out in the open now."

* * *

**OP: "Purikyua Club" - Bukatsudo Four**

* * *

Kaana looked up at Fumie from her position in her lap, wiggling a bit as the blonde stroked her back. "Have you ever wondered why your dreams shine so strongly?"

"Not particularly," Kurako said before anyone else could speak. "I mean...it was just us, wasn't it? Our dreams are in our hearts; we make our own dreams and make them shine all by ourselves, isn't that right?" The other girls nodded their agreement.

"That is partly true," Hisa admitted, nudging forward the elegant-looking plush. "You do make your own dreams and make them strong. But sometimes everyone needs a little help. That soft little voice in your heart that tells you not to give up? That warm hug you feel before you resolve to try harder? Those things come from the Dream Charm, channeling and nurturing the hopes of everyone. Without it, dreams would be destroyed much more easily...

"It was kept in the royal castle in our home, Dream Peaks. The royal family and their soldiers protected it, nurtured it...Princess Himemiya here valued the safety of the Dream Charm over her own, so...so when Mora came..." Unable to go on, Hisa lowered her gaze back to the doll, eyes shining.

No one needed to say anything. Not for a few moments anyway.

Kurako was the first to break the silence. "So...something went wrong and the Dream Charm broke, am I right? That's why Aoi had a piece of it." When the snake sisters nodded, she went on. "And we have to find them, rebuild the Dream Charm, and keep Mora from destroying it or getting the shards first and leaving the charm incomplete."

Fumie clapped her hands, her eyes wide in admiration. "Wow, Kurako, you're amazing!"

Kurako flushed pink, looking away and pursing her lips. "I...I watch a lot of mahou shoujo. It's not too hard to figure out," she muttered.

"A girl after my own heart," Kotone laughed, leaning over to pat Kurako on the head. Kurako waved her away.

"But you don't need to say any more, Hisa, Kaana!" Aoi declared, standing up and giving them an admittedly-nervous smile. "We'll get the shards, don't you worry!"

Hisa's mouth twitched into a smile._ Well, I can safely say I trust you girls more than Fumie..._

* * *

**TODAY'S EPISODE: The Incredible Shrinking People! Thumbel-Uta?!**

* * *

Two knocks sounded on the other side of the door. Before anyone could answer, the door opened and Uta poked her head in, smiling brightly. "Helloooo~?" she called.

Kaana and Hisa stopped trying to look like lifeless dolls themselves, Kaana sighing in relief that it was someone who actually was "in the know."

Unknowing of the snakes' attempts to calm their hearts down, Uta skipped over to the girls, holding something behind her bag. "Hey, guys! So, uh, I saw the toy you've got-"

"It's Princess Himemiya," everyone said in one voice.

"Oh, okay! So I saw Princess Himemiya, and I thought to myself, 'You know what? I bet it's boring to wear the same thing day after day!' Sooo, I got out my fabric collection and my needles and I made this~" She smiled, finally showing what was in her hands: the pinkest, frilliest Lolita dress any of the girls had ever seen. "Isn't it adorable?"

The girls and snakes sat speechless, staring at the thing in Uta's hands. Aoi put a hand to her lips, tilting her head as she frowned lightly. Hisa's mouth worked itself, her brain desperate to come up with something to say to the (to her) monstrosity before her. Finally, she managed to let out a gasp and sputter "Th-that is most certainly not what a princess should-!"

"I think it's pretty!" Kaana chimed in, cutting off her sister. She beamed as Uta cheerfully leaned forward, trying to force the dress over the plush Himemiya's head. "Waugh! Wait, you can't put it on over her clothes!"

Uta gasped, straightening up. "Oh gosh, you're right! Hold on a sec, I'll be right back!" And with that she ran into the private bathroom, slamming the door shut as Hisa desperately screamed at her to unhand the princess immediately, then glared round the group as they laughed at her.

Outside the door, Fureyaa looked down at the Dream-Eating Crane in his hands, sadly poking at one of the wings. He could hear muffled laughter inside the dorm room...they all sounded so happy; it was hard to believe they were the enemy!

_"But I don't wanna use one!" he cried, taking a step back from Chuusha._

_The white-haired woman just stepped forward, thrusting the black paper at him. "Do you want to help us or not?!" she shrieked._

_"I-I wanna help..." Fureyaa looked beyond the medic, desperately and silently pleading Kemuri and Gachan for help. But Gachan stood motionless, and Fureyaa had no idea what he was thinking or even expressing under that mask. Kemuri was looking at her feet, cheeks puffed out as she folded her arms angrily. "I wanna help..." he repeated._

_Chuusha closed the distance between them, shoving the paper-now an origami crane-at his chest. Fureyaa fumbled it for a moment before hugging the slightly-crumpled thing nervously. "If you're truly loyal to the cause and Lady Nocturna, then you'll go out there and destroy Pretty Cure! Don't let anyone get in the way-not even civilians! **Do you understand?"**_

Even in the present-time, Fureyaa flinched as he recalled how loud she'd been. "Y-Yeah..." he mumbled, hugging the crane tighter, bending the wings further. He winced, gritting his teeth at the pain in his chest-there must be a Dream Shard nearby, or maybe the Charm itself. All the more reason to use one of these things, he told himself, trying to convince himself to just use the darned thing.

"Forgive me," he muttered, suddenly kicking the door open.

If he wanted a dramatic entrance, it was kinda ruined. Probably because when the door burst open and the girls stood up with a cry, Fureyaa was hopping up and down on one foot, hissing in pain. Wow, doors were heavier than he thought they were!

In any case, the girls' collective looks of shock and anger slowly turned into exasperated ones. "Oh, lord..." Hisa muttered, covering her eyes with the end of her tail.

"Ow. Ow. Owowowow...okay-uhm-Pretty Cure!" Fureyaa blurted out, testing his weight on his injured foot. "I'll give you the option of quietly surrendering! Just give me the Dream Charm and-ow, that hurts-and I won't you into Pretty Cure dust!" He held out the Dream-Eating Crane, fingers arranging themselves around the wings.

"Okay, she's finished~!" Uta cheered, banging open the bathroom door and holding Himemiya out. She suddenly looked over to where the others were staring, locking eyes with Fureyaa. "Eh?! You?"

Fureyaa's eyes went wide. "Civilian!" Alright, no. He couldn't do it. He didn't care what Chuusha said, he couldn't bring himself to hurt civilians! He'd have to leave and come back later. He moved his hands again, making the rip the Dream-Eating Crane-

-Uta mistook his actions for something else, and ran forward, dropping Himemiya on the floor. "Waaagh, don't hurt my sister and her friends!"

"I'm no-gyaaah!" Fureyaa cried as Uta smacked into him. The crane tore in half, and then there was a puff of pink smoke...

...and then when it cleared, neither of them were in sight.

There was a long silence as everyone's minds worked to figure out just what had happened in such short time. Kotone was first to speak._ "Where's my sister?!"_

* * *

**Eyecatch 1:** Fumie stands at an easel, tongue poking out slightly as she carefully dabs some paint onto the canvas. Satisfied, she steps back and spins the easel around to reveal a watercolor of Cure Ink, the PCBE logo where a signature should be.  
**Eyecatch 2:** Kurako, Aoi, Kotone, Mari, Uta, Kaana and Hisa all sit down on the floor, watching Fumie. Fumie stands at a podium and bangs a rubber gavel, calling the club meeting to order. The PCBE logo appears in the corner.

* * *

Uta had her eyes shut tightly, fists clenched at her chest. She hadn't known what to expect when the smoke showed up. But weirdly enough, nothing seemed to be happening. Feeling an odd sense of d j vu, she opened her eyes.

And then she realized that Fureyaa had his own eyes squeezed shut, trembling slightly as he held onto her.

"Uh..."

Fureyaa opened his eyes, sighing in relief as he noticed they seemed to be unharmed. "Well! I've never torn a crane in half before, so I dunno what was about to happen. I tried to warn ya," he added, looking at Uta with a faint frown. "But noooo, the bad guys don't ever have something important to say, do they?"

"I never said that!"

"Uta? Caped guy?" Both of them looked up to see a giant Fumie on her hands and knees in front of them, peering down in amazement. The rest of the girls were around her, Aoi being the only one not kneeling. Instead she was bent over slightly, hands over her mouth as she stared, wide-eyed.

Wait-why was Fumie a giant?

Why was everything so huge?

...waaaiiiit.

"I-I'm tiny!" Uta cried, eyes teary. "I'm tiny! How did that even happen?! This isn't good, no no no!"

Fumie started snickering, eyes shutting tight. "Awww, Uta, you sound so adorable! Your voice is all squeaky!"

"D-Don't make fun of my voice!" Uta half-sobbed.

"Yeah, don't make fun of her voice!" Fureyaa supplied. he suddenly yelped as Kotone's first closed around him and he was brought up to her face. The purple-haired girl glared at the tiny villain.

"You. Start talking."

Later, Fumie and Kotone sat in their classroom, trying to keep their minds focused on the lecture. Not an easy thing to do when your friend and sister, and a villain, are about an inch tall at most. Fumie glanced over at Kotone, biting her lower lip.

"You're sure it'll wear off?" Kotone growled, squeezing Fureyaa enough to make him squeak.

"K-Kotone, don't hurt him!" Aoi cried nervously.

"Y-yes, I'm sure! It has to eventually, r-right? Th-these things always do in the end!"

"Until then, I think we should keep an eye on you both," Kurako cut in, arms folding over her chest.

* * *

And that was why both Uta and Fureyaa were inside Kotone's desk. Every now and then the girl would reach into her desk under the pretense of searching for a pencil, groping around til she was sure both tiny people were still in there.

Fureyaa, for his part, was getting really annoyed with the occasional hand coming in and poking him in the chest. It really wasn't helping his chest pain.

"Come oooon," he groaned angrily, swatting Kotone's hand away again-and getting a flick on the head for his trouble. "Ow! Hey, no fair!" He sighed, collapsing on a pencil case and clutching tighter at his chest, teeth gritting. This couldn't possibly get any worse.

"Hey, Cape Guy. Are you feeling okay?" Uta asked.

"'m fine," Fureyaa muttered, lying through his teeth.

Uta sat down next to him on the pencil case, drawing her knees up to her chest. "You don't look fine...d'you got heartburn?"

Fureyaa sighed, all traces of frustration slipping off his face. "No...I'm sensing the Dream Charm, is all." He looked over at his companion, noting her confused expression. "Me an' the others, we can tell when a Dream Shard or the Charm is nearby...our chests hurt, like, right in our hearts." To emphasize this, he tapped at the spot above his heart. "Well, Chuusha doesn't because she can't feel any pain, but she gets a weird not-pain tingle...It's how we know where to look, how close we are."

"That doesn't sound very convenient," Uta frowned. "I mean...why can't you use a tracking device or something? Not that I want you to to get the Shards first or the bad guys to win, but it doesn't sound very fun for you."

Fureyaa laughed, leaning back a little and supporting his weight on his hands. "It's not supposed to be fun, Pigtails! It's work, hard work, and sometimes you gotta suffer a little to get what you want. Even in achieving dreams!"

Uta sighed, turning her face so it was half-hidden against her knees. "It shouldn't have to hurt, though. I feel kinda sorry for you, Cape Guy."

Fureyaa blinked in surprise. That...she'd sounded so sincere. She'd truly meant that, hadn't she? She wasn't just saying something to let his guard down, or even trying to convince him to give up and surrender to Pretty Cure. No, she'd said she didn't like him hurting, and she'd meant it.

Just for a moment, the pain in his chest lessened.

Uta squeaked as Fureyaa suddenly clapped a hand on top of her head, rubbing playfully. She shot him an indignant look that quickly transformed into a smile. Then, giggling, she reached up to do the same to him.

"My name's Fureyaa," he said conversationally, bringing his knees to his chest to mimic Uta's pose. "What's yours?"

Uta smiled sweetly, resting the side of her face on her knees. "I'm Uta."

"Nice to meet you."

* * *

In Despair Horizon, Nocturna sat in her special chair, head tilted back as the gel around her seemed to pulse with dark energy. Her eyebrows lowered, twitching as her once-peaceful expression suddenly became more disturbed. Her hands twitched a few times before clenching into fists. "Nnngh..."

As if he were a dog, Gachan suddenly appeared in a flash of dark blue light, quickly walking over to the navy-haired girl. He dropped to one knee, hands coming up to caress her face. "Lady Nocturna," he muttered softly. "Lady Nocturna, wake."

Nocturna's eyes opened as she gasped faintly. Her head slowly lifted, hair falling over her face in loose strands. Her faithful servant couldn't help notice the shadows under her eyes. "Gachan," she intoned. "I need that Charm. I need it now."

"Patience, my Lady," Gachan answered, tilting his head forward so their forwards touched. "We've run into some...minor inconveniences. But rest assured, you'll have your Dream Charm soon."

"I had better," Nocturna murmured, eyes closing again. "Or I can't guarantee that you'll all be happy with your fates."

* * *

Fureyaa doubled over as he and Uta stood on Fumie's bed, falling to his knees and clutching at his chest. "C-Can't you get the Dream Charm away from me?" he whined, cracking one eye open to glare at the girls. "I won't steal it when I change size again, I promise!"

Aoi, gentle as always, took the Dream Charm from Fumie's pocket (offering an apologetic smile as she did so) and edged towards the door. "Tell me when it's finished, please," she said, nodding as she left the room.

The effect was instantaneous. As soon as the door clicked softly shut, Fureyaa relaxed, face-down on the bedspread as he sighed. "Ohhh, that's better, thank you. 's'not quite tangible, but wow does it hurt!"

Uta giggled, hands over her mouth. "Ffft, you're funny, Fureyaa!"

Just then, soft white light enveloped the two tiny teenagers. It grew brighter and brighter, and the occupants of the room watched as the two expanded, shifted...and then the light flashed, and the two were their proper size. Fureyaa still curled up on the bed, while Uta was sitting awkwardly with her head bowed, limbs akimbo. "Whoa! That felt weird!" she cried.

"Eh, it's over?" Fureyaa lifted his head up, then rolled off the bunk. "Okay! Well, Pretty Cure, I made a promise, and I sure as sugar won't attack a civilian-'specially such a nice civilian at that," he winked at Uta, who just laughed again. "So! Next time be more prepared! Because I'll definitely do my best! See ya!" The familiar vortex appeared behind him, and with one last wave and cheeky grin, he ducked inside and disappeared.

Kotone huffed and folded her arms. "Well, good riddance! He probably made you shrink on purpose, Uta, so he could gain our confidence!"

Hisa and Kurako nodded their agreement.

"I don't think that's it, Kotone," Uta said, sliding off the bed. She walked over to join the others, smiling softly at the spot where Fureyaa had once stood. "I think...I think he's rather nice." Ignorant of the shocked looks the others gave her, she giggled faintly. I hope we can hang out again someday soon...

After a short silence, Fumie gasped, smacking her fist into an open palm. "Ah! All through today I was trying to think of a good pun!"

"Then why are you only now mentioning this?" Kurako muttered, eyes narrowing.

"And I finally got one! ~Daaa-da-da-da!~"

"Oh God, I recognize this tune," Kurako muttered, a look of horror on her face. "Fumie-!"

"~Smaller than a thumb, no bigger than a crumb~"

"Fumie, you can't sing! Your singing is mediocre, and that song is annoying!"

"~Oh what will become of Thumbel-Uta? Pretty little dreamer, Thumbel-Uta~"

"Fumie, you just skipped about three-fourths of the song!"

"Would you rather I sing all of it?~"

"Guh, no!"

No one noticed a shadowy figure, one light purple eye aglow, watching them from outside the window...odd, considering Fumie's room was on the third floor.

* * *

**ED: "Lead Me There" - YUME featuring Mari**

* * *

**ON THE NEXT EPISODE:**  
**Kurako:** "Well, that was rather pointless."  
**Fumie:** "Don't worry, we can get back on track soon! Riiight after the musical."  
**Aoi:** "Oh yeah, I've been looking forward to this one for-wait a minute, what's wrong with the leading lady?"  
**Fumie:** "Phwah, not her again! What's she doing with that crane?!"  
**Kotone:** "Next time on Pretty Cure Bukatsudo Energetic: Max Laryngitis! Give Back My Voice! Don't be late for next meeting!"


	6. Chapter 6

_"REEEEEEH?!"_

Kemuri stomped her foot and leaned forward a little, hands balled into fists as she glared at Fureyaa. "What do you mean the school was putting on a musical?!"

"Schools do that, Kemuri," Chuusha muttered irritably, rolling her eyes.

"I-I know b-but-GAAAAH why didn't you tell me sooner?" Kemuri shook Fureyaa by the shoulders, hard. "I wanted to audition! I wanna be a play! I wanna be in a musical! I'm good at singing!"

"-I-I d-d-d-did-n-n't kno-o-ow t-til n-n-noo-o-ow..." Fureyaa tried to say through the shaking, eyes spinning around comically.

Gachan sighed, striding forward and gently prying Kemuri's hands from the caped boy's shoulders. "Calm yourself, Kemuri. It's nothing to be worked up over-you'll get your chance to be on the stage when we get the Dream Charm."

Kemuri just sulked, folding her arms and making a noise rather like "bububuuu..."

* * *

**OP: "Purikyua Club" - Bukatsudo Four**

* * *

"Okay, let's try this again." Uta stood in an empty classroom, opposite a girl with long, curly pink hair. She held up her index finger, waving it a few times as she went on. "Okay...do, re, mi, fa, so, la..."

"So, la, ti, do~" the pink-haired girl finished, eyes screwed shut in concentration. Unfortunately, what came out wasn't a melodious voice, but something raspy and dying. She opened her red eyes, wearing a distraught expression as Uta's face fell. "I-It's still not better?!"

"Well...well, maybe you should stop talking for a few more hours?" Uta offered, biting on her knuckle.

Unbeknownst to the girls, Fumie and Kaana were peeking around the doorway, staring with interest. Kaana sat on Fumie's head as the blonde gripped the doorframe, frowning slightly. "Poor Miss Hibiki..." Fumie sighed. "Of all times to lose her voice!"

"Who is she?" Kaana asked, crawling forward to look at Fumie upside-down. "I guess she's a singer, but who is she?"

"That's Hibiki Kawaguchi. She's part of the Drama Club, and is supposed to be in the musical tonight! But if she lost her voice..." Fumie trailed off sadly. "She has an understudy, so the show will still go on, but..." She looked back into the classroom, saw Hibiki closing her eyes again as she tried to sing along with Uta, looking ready to burst into tears when she sounded even raspier.

In her hands, she clutched a shining diamond, as if for good luck.

* * *

**TODAY'S EPISODE: Max Laryngitis! Give Back My Voice!**

* * *

"Eh?" Kotone looked up from her juice. "She's still working on that?"

Pretty Cure and the snake siblings were sitting on the steps outside the front entrance to Atama. Fumie had been sent to get Uta for some pre-musical shopping (Mari was on her way, needing to change out of her cheer uniform), but it didn't look like she'd be joining them after all.

"I'm sorry, Fumie!" Uta cried, bowing and clapping her hands together. "But I can't just leave Hibiki! This show means a lot to her, and we're going to get her voice back before showtime if it kills us! I'll go shopping with you guys another day, okay?"

"I didn't know Miss Hibiki was that upset by it," Aoi muttered, a hand going to the side of her face. "The show is going on for three days-missing one day shouldn't be too awful."

"But it's not just about missing a day," Kurako added just then. "It's more about being on the stage, I think. Using all of your opportunities, being where you want to be most."

"And Miss Hibiki's been practicing for a long time now," Kotone said, sipping her orange juice again. "It's pretty sucky, practicing and rehearsing and then on opening night you can't go on because of something stupid. I'd just die if it happened to me, I swear."

Everyone fell silent, Fumie twisting her fingers around each other. Suddenly, she took a deep breath and stood up, planting her hands on her hips. "Well!" she cried suddenly. "Uta's doing a good job encouraging her and helping her get her voice back, so I betcha that she'll be perfect and running again for tonight's show!" She stuck her arm up, giving a thumbs-up. "It'll be a-okay! Besides, Atama's all about dreams, right? Miss Hibiki's dream is to be on the stage. The spirit of Atama would never deny her!"

"You seem certain," Kurako muttered, looking less than amused.

But the conversation didn't go any further than that, for Mari came skipping down the steps just then in her casual outfit, a clutch held in her hands. "Okaaay, ready~ Hey..." she mumbled, smile vanishing as she took in her friends' expressions. "Why the faces? Come on, this is gonna be fun, remember?" She grinned, jiggling her clutch. "Come ooon, let's spend our allowances and get some cute clothes for the show tonight!"

Kotone grinned, crushing her can and tossing it in a nearby garbage can. "Yeah...Besides, I think Hibiki's gonna be fine. My sister's a good coach, and she's lost her voice tons of times; I bet she knows a few good remedies."

The others nodded, and Kaana and Hisa slid off their respective perches to sit on the steps. "Well, you girls go on and neglect your duties," Hisa deadpanned, giving Fumie an especially-harsh glare. _"We'll_ be productive and look for Dream Shards."

Fumie folded her arms, turning up her nose. "You know, worrying and not having any fun will turn you into a shrivelly old belt."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Gotta run!" Fumie laughed suddenly, grabbing a very-confused Mari's arm and dragging her off, the others following her.

"No! You get back here and repeat that! Th-that didn't even make sense! Get back here, darn you!"

* * *

Hibiki sat in her dressing room, head in her hands as she sniffled. Next to her were several different brands of cough drop, a glass and pitcher of water, some peppermints, and an odd pink concoction that Uta had promised would at least soothe the pain. Someone knocked on the door and opened it before she could even call out to them.

And then her understudy, a brunette with a large red bow, stuck her head in. "Uhm...Hibiki?" she ventured. "Are you feeling alright?"

Hibiki shook her head, opting to just say nothing.

"O-oh...hey, your voice will be back tomorrow!"

Still nothing.

"So...listen, I promise I'll work really hard tonight."

Hibiki dug her nails into her arms, still silent. Hot tears blurred her vision as she heard her understudy cough awkwardly and shut the door, mumbling a farewell. Only then did she let herself cry, burying her head in her arms. _It's not fair! It's not fair!_

Memories flooded her mind: audition, call-backs, rehearsals...She'd been just a lowly background performer til this performance, when her talent was finally realized. And now on what was supposed to be her debut as a star, when she was supposed to wow everyone with her acting and her voice...

_What is there left for me now?_ She sobbed pathetically, not noticing the way the Dream Shard next to her suddenly flashed.

Nor did she notice the person who had suddenly materialized behind her.

Kemuri grinned wickedly, the light catching her monocle and obscuring her eye as she looked down into her hands_. Kikikiki...One Dream Shard, one broken dream, coming right up_, she thought, positioning her fingers over the Dream-Eating Crane's wings.

* * *

Hisa sat up and flicked her tongue out, tasting the air, smelling, trying to find that familiar sensation. There'd been a pleasant tingle in her heart when Aoi had carried a Dream Shard-it was one of the properties of the Dream Charm, making one's heart feel light and happy, like they could do anything. Evidently it still had this effect when shattered into pieces. Hisa couldn't help feeling a bit of pride at that.

Kaana moved behind her, pausing and watching silently as her sister searched for a lead. Her big sister was always better at this sort of thing than she was. She didn't make a sound until Hisa gasped and started moving quickly in another direction. Following close behind, Kaana asked "Did you find one, big sister?"

"There's one over there-in that room!" Hisa called back, eyes glimmering with excitement.

As they neared the door, it suddenly slammed open. Both snakes skidded to a halt, then Hisa suddenly shoved Kaana back against the wall so they wouldn't be seen. They peered nervously at the person coming out of the room...

Hibiki shuffled out, shoulders slumped, eyes half-shut with dark shadows underneath them. If one looked at her eyes, they would notice that they looked completely dull now, no trace of life or hope in them, no shine. her mouth was twisted in a mixture of disgust and immense sorrow as she made her way towards the backstage area.

"Not fair...think they can deny me my dreams, crush my heart? I deserve to be up there, after all my hard work," she muttered darkly. Hisa saw a dark aura pulse around her, noticed the Dream Shard held tightly in her hand.

"Kaana," she said, voice trembling slightly.

"B-big sister?"

_"Go find Pretty Cure. **Now."**_

* * *

**Eyecatch 1:** Fumie stands at an easel, tongue poking out slightly as she carefully dabs some paint onto the canvas. Satisfied, she steps back and spins the easel around to reveal a watercolor of Cure Ink, the PCBE logo where a signature should be.  
**Eyecatch 2:** Kurako, Aoi, Kotone, Mari, Uta, Kaana and Hisa all sit down on the floor, watching Fumie. Fumie stands at a podium and bangs a rubber gavel, calling the club meeting to order. The PCBE logo appears in the corner.

* * *

"I don't see why I didn't get to buy that tiara," Kotone muttered bitterly, pouting as she walked behind the others.

Mari laughed, looking over her shoulder and tossing her hair. "Well, we're just watching a school play! Even shopping for new clothes is kinda pushing it...a tiara would have been way too much!"

"You can always come back for it later," Aoi smiled at Kotone, patting her head.

Kotone just snorted, tilting her head slightly to smirk at Aoi. "Whatever, Kind Mama," she chuckled.

Everyone paused, turning to stare at the purple-haired girl. Fumie shifted her shopping bag as she frowned slightly. "'Kind Mama?' Where'd that come from, Kotone?"

"It's her nickname! You know-friends ought to have nicknames for each other!" Kotone grinned, holding up an index finger as if she were revealing some grand, important fact. "And such an important group as we...well, you're Kind Mama," she said, pointing at Aoi, who just pointed to herself in confusion. "You're Picasso." Fumie. "You're Hoppy." Mari. "And I'm Princess."

"What about me?!"

Everyone startled and stared at Kurako. The dark-haired girl was holding her bag to her chest, leaning forward with wide, sparkling eyes. Suddenly, she blinked, and pulled herself back, coughing in embarrassment. "I mean...never mind. I don't need a nickname-I'm not sure I'd be much fun for you all anyway, I'm not friend material-"

"Fffft, who says?" Kotone clapped her hand over Kurako's shoulder, flashing her a toothy smile. "You're Birdy."

Kurako flushed pink, looking away in embarrassment-for a split-second. Then she realized what exactly she'd been saddled with and turned to glare at Kotone. "Hey wait a second-why Birdy?"

"It's like those birds you see dropping to drink the water. You know, they just move back and forth constantly? Because of a balancing thingie in them, and you use the balance beam. Get it?"

"I most certainly do not!"

They were interrupted by a faint cry just then. "_Pret-ty Cuuuuure!"_

Everyone looked down to see Kaana slithering along the sidewalk, avoiding passers-by with ease, despite her haggard expression. "P-pretty Cure..." she panted, practically collapsing as Fumie ran over to her.

"Kaana! Kaana, what-what are you doing here? How'd you find us? And why are you talking in public?" Fumie said the last part in a hushed voice, frowning slightly. "Someone could hear you!"

The young snake struggled to catch her breath; Aoi waved the other girls away from Fumie with a muttering of "Give her some air." After a few moments, she swallowed and looked up with frightened eyes. "S-Something...something's happened at school! We f-found a Dream Shard b-but the person wh-who has it is..."

"Save your voice," Kurako interrupted, suddenly reaching over Fumie's shoulder and gently petting Kaana's head. "We'll get there right away! Just tell us which room!" she said as Fumie straightened up and they all ran down the sidewalk.

* * *

"Kyaaah!"

Drama Club members fled from the area, some of them shouting for a teacher. Hibiki stared darkly at the brunette from earlier, shuffling towards her, dark aura pulsing even stronger now. "Not fair...not fair..." she mumbled.

"H-Hibiki, calm down!" the girl protested, backed into a corner, hands held in placation.

"How can I calm down?" Hibiki's voice seemed to drop, an odd echo-effect to it suddenly. "I wanted to be a star. All I wanted was to sing onstage, all I wanted was to have my dream come true!"

"That's right, Hibiki..." Kemuri chimed in from her place at the end of the stage. She stood watching the entire ordeal, arms folded over her chest, a smirk on her lips. "That was all you'd wanted, and now you'll never have your dream come true..."

"Never?"

"It's all her fault!"

"Yeah..."

The Dream Shard, still clutched in Hibiki's hand, started to flicker its light, struggling to keep the pink-haired girl's dream alive. Kemuri noticed this, grinning and holding her hand out, palm up. "That useless trinket won't help you anymore...Why don't you give it to me, and then take your frustrations out on this brat?"

"Stooooooop!"

All three girls turned towards the source of the sound. Fumie stood in the doorway, Kaana in her hands, Hisa at her feet, breathing heavily. "St...stop..." she panted. "Stop...right there!"

Kemuri raised an eyebrow. "Oh wow, you're all winded. Not too intimidating when you're like that."

"You shut up!" Kurako snapped. "Mari, get those girls outta here-we'll deal with-!"

Hibiki suddenly screeched, the raspiness of her voice making it sound inhuman as the sound amplified upon itself. The dark aura around her flared up, reaching for the ceiling. Unable to see much more of this, her poor understudy collapsed, unconscious in her corner.

Kaana gasped in fright. "Fumie! That girl's been possessed!"

"Wait, what?" Fumie cried, struggling to be heard over Hibiki's screeching.

"The Dream-Eating Crane's been thrown into her this time!" Hisa supplied. "Her dream's dying-Pretty Cure, you hafta fight her!"

"But...but a classmate?" Aoi gasped, hands over her mouth.

Kotone stepped forward. "If it's the only way to save her dreams, then..."

"Pretty Cure! Show my future!"  
"Painting the world with new tints, Cure Ink!"  
"Spinning with grace and strength, Cure Twirl!"  
"Adding flavor and zest to life, Cure Spice!"  
"Drumming a new life's rhythm, Cure Beat!"  
"Protecting everyone's dreams, Pretty Cure Bukatsudo Energetic!"

"...should we really have transformed in front of Miss Hibiki?" Spice murmured suddenly.

"She won't remember this," Beat assured, charging forward. "Sorry, Hibiki, this is for your own good!" She leaped into the air, preparing to kick the other girl as she came back down.

"Beat, no!" Ink screamed.

Beat gasped, forgetting her attack entirely and crashing to the ground. Hibiki gave her a strong kick that made her skid back to the rest of the girls. "Ow!"

"Sorry, Beat, but...I don't think we can treat her like a monster," Ink said apologetically, looking in horror at Hibiki. The other girl had stopped screaming at least, but that aura was still there, the shadows under her eyes had gotten darker, and Ink swore she could see some of her veins.

"Ink's right," Twirl said quietly. "She's still our classmate..."

Kemuri tossed her hair, laughing behind her hand. "Ohohoho! That's right, Pretty Cure; you can't attack an innocent classmate! So why don't you give me your Dream Charm, and I'll take the shard in her hand, and I'll be on my-"

"Pretty Cure Grace Hurricane!"

Kemuri was cut off by a sudden onslaught of magenta hearts, catching her off-guard and forcing her backwards a little. "Kyah! What the-?!"

Twirl landed gracefully in front of Kemuri, glaring furiously at the pigtailed girl. "Never. Miss Hibiki may be a classmate, but you're our enemy."

"Wh-wh-why I-how dare you!" Kemuri snapped, it being the only thing she could think off.

Twirl simply jumped up and sweep-kicked her in the side, knocking her across the floor. "Girls, try to snap Miss Hibiki out of it! Do something!"

"Right!" Pretty Cure scattered; it'd be easier to fight or calm Hibiki down without them being clumped in one spot, like a big target. Mari took the opportunity to grab Hisa and Kaana, running and hiding behind a chest of costumes.

"You guys don't wanna get stepped on," she said, shrugging apologetically.

"B-but I had something to tell them!" Hisa cried, struggling to get out of Mari's grasp.

"Not now!"

Ink charged towards Hibiki. "Miss Hibiki, listen! You can still perform onstage, you just-kyah!" Hibiki had swung her arm and sent Ink flying backwards. Ink crashed into some props, groaning. How...How'd she get so strong?

"Miss Hibiki, please knock it off!" Spice cried, suddenly appearing behind her. Before she could say anything further, Hibiki snarled and spun around, shoving Spice in the gut and sending her backwards too. "Kyaaaah!"

"It's about Hibiki and how they can beat her!" Hisa snapped.

Mari blinked. "Oh...w-well hurry up and tell them!"

Meanwhile, Beat and Twirl were occupied with Kemuri. Beat delivered a sharp kick to her back, while Twirl followed up with a blow to the stomach. "Make it stop!" Twirl snapped. "Get her back to normal!"

"Never! Not until you give me the Dream Charm and the Shard!" Kemuri screamed, deciding to fight back herself. She snapped her fingers and bright pink smoke began billowing from her between her thumb and forefinger. It quickly filled the small area she and the two Cures were standing in, blinding the two of them. Before either could react, she suddenly zoomed towards them, gutpunching them both and sending them into a wall. "Give it up!"

"IIIINK!" Hisa shouted.

Ink turned her head, jumping away from an advancing, screeching Hibiki.

Mari stood on the chest, Hisa held in her outstretched hands. Hisa had her eyes shut tight, leaning forward as she called out to her. "The Dream Charm should still be on your person! Use it to weaken Miss Hibiki, then use your magic attack! It won't hurt her, I promise!"

"You swear?!" Ink called back.

Hisa looked deadly serious just then. "I swear on the souls of past Pretty Cure that Miss Hibiki will be alright!"

Ink didn't quite know what Hisa was talking about with that, but she sounded sincere. Ink nodded, mouth in a firm, think line. "Okay!" She quickly dug into her skirts as Hibiki came closer, moving past Spice, who was struggling to get untangled from the various props. Her hand closed around something small and warm and smooth. There! "Miss Hibiki, wait!" Ink cried, thrusting her hand out...the unfinished Dream Charm swinging on its chain.

Hibiki froze, gasping. The dark aura diminished and shrank back slightly as the Dream Charm began to glow faintly.

"Miss Hibiki..." Ink continued, voice softer now. "Your dreams aren't destroyed just by a sore throat, or losing your voice...You can always perform again-one opportunity isn't your only one. Don't let your dreams die, don't be angry!"

Hibiki's eyes started to regain their shine and slowly filled with tears as she reached for the Dream Charm. In doing so, the Shard in her hand began to glow brighter than ever, and in a flash rejoined with the Charm.

Spice stumbled out of the props just then, catching Ink's eye. Both girls nodded, and Spice rested a hand on Hibiki's shoulder. "Miss Hibiki...hold on, alright?

"Pretty Cure Flavor Bomb!"

The pale yellow light flashed, filling the room. Hibiki's features were obscured, eyes widening briefly before closing as the black aura drained away entirely. When the light faded, she collapsed into Spice's arms.

"Wh-what? No way!" Kemuri cried angrily. She stomped her foot, pointing accusingly at everyone in turn. "I'll be back, just you wait!" The vortex appeared behind her, and she was gone.

Fumie knelt over Hibiki's body, dangling the Dream Charm over her chest. With a look of concentration on her face, she slowly lowered the Charm til it was directly over Hibiki's heart. The Dream-Eating Crane suddenly appeared, sitting on Hibiki's chest, before vanishing in a flash of light, gone forever.

As the shadows under Hibiki's eyes vanished, everyone sighed in relief. "Thank goodness..." Aoi murmured.

"I didn't think that could happen," Kotone muttered, a little shocked. "We really_ are_ protecting dreams, aren't we?"

Hisa nodded grimly.

* * *

That evening, Pretty Cure sat in their assigned seats, dressed in their new clothes. Hisa and Kaana sat on Fumie and Kurako's laps, respectively, Mari and Uta on either end of the group.

Onstage, Hibiki's understudy was delivering a fantastic aria, while Hibiki herself stood in the wings, a faint smile on her face.

"Looks like Miss Hibiki's going to be okay, huh?" Fumie whispered, ignoring the _'Shhh!'_ from the girl in front of her.

Uta nodded, whispering down the row at Fumie. "She said she realized she'd still have more chances...and her understudy had a dream of being onstage too! This was just her opportunity too is all. And Miss Hibiki's using some of my special remedies!" She gave a thumbs-up. "She'll be performing tomorrow!"

"That's great!" Kotone cried, clapping her hands.

_"Shh!"_

"Fumie, I have to commend you," Hisa whispered, quietest of all.

"Eh, me?"

"You looked like a true Pretty Cure back there, wielding the Dream Charm like that...And talking to Miss Hibiki. I might have been wrong about you. You might turn out to be a good Pretty Cure after all." Fumie's face brightened, even with Hisa's next, emphasized word. "Might."

"That's still good enough for me!" she laughed, hugging the snake close to her chest.

_"Shhhhh!"_

* * *

**ED: "Lead Me There" - YUME featuring Mari**

* * *

**ON THE NEXT EPISODE:**  
**Fumie:** "Alright, I'm gonna be an awesome Pretty Cure after all! Eh, hey, what's wrong, Aoi?"  
**Aoi:** "There's some trouble between the Cooking and Gardening Clubs...and it's all over something so silly."  
**Fumie:** "Well, I'm sure it'll blow over soon!"  
**Kurako:** "Not if that witch, Chuusha has anything to do with it!"  
**Kotone:** "Next time on Pretty Cure Bukatsudo Energetic: It's War! Uncooked vs Cooked? Don't be late for next meeting!"


	7. Chapter 7

"Okay, everyone, let's do it~!" Mari cheered, standing in the middle of the dorm room in her pajamas. In front of her, standing in a row, were Fumie, Kaana, and Hisa, all with identical looks of determination. "Are you all ready?"

"Yeah!" Fumie pumped her fist into the air, Kaana and Hisa stood a little straighter.

"Then let's do it!" Mari moved her arms out so they stuck straight out at her sides, then bent low to touch the toes of her right foot with her left hand, then straightened and did the reverse. "One, two. One, two. One, two..."

As Fumie mimicked her roommate's motions, Hisa just sat there, staring incredulously. "Wait...we're gonna start with that? M-mari, Kaana and I can't-!"

"Just do your best, big sister!" Kaana interrupted happily, touching the tip of her tail to her snout over and over again. "Improvise, improvise!"

Hisa sighed, shaking her head. Well, no one was going to listen to her. She was about to start mimicking her sister when Mari suddenly straightened up and clapped her hands.

"Okay, now something the littler ones can do!" She lifted her hands above her head, standing on tip-toe, stretching towards the ceiling. "Reeeeaaach!"

All three of them copied her, sighing in relief as they felt their muscles loosening, Fumie as she felt her spine popping.

* * *

**OP: "Purikyua Club" - Bukatsudo Four**

* * *

"Awwww, that was a good stretch," Fumie sighed, flopping backwards onto her bunk and kicking her morning exercises were done for the day, and Mari had just gone into the bathroom to take her shower before she had to go for cheerleading practice.

"And Himemiya's exercise outfit is so cute! I love exercise, and I love this outfit!" Kaana chimed in, bringing forward the little plush. Today she was wearing a pink tank-top with darker pink shorts, a tiny white headband, and pale pink wristbands. "Uta's really good at this! Is she in the fashion club?"

Fumie shook her head, reaching out to take Himemiya and hold her up to see her better. "No, she's a singer. I think you're right though, she should totally go for the fashion club, I bet she'd be really good!" She sighed, still smiling, resting Himemiya on her chest. "But I guess no matter how good she is at one thing, her dream is something totally different...And I'm not gonna tell her not to follow her dream!"

"Dreams are important, huh, Fumie?" Kaana asked.

Fumie just grinned, teeth showing. "Yup!"

The bathroom door opened just then, and Mari stepped out, toweling her hair and dressed in a pink bathrobe. "bathroom's free if you wanna shower before we hit the cooking club, Fumie-tan~"

"Eh?" Fumie sat up, blinking in surprise. "Hit the cooking club? What's goin' on?"

"You didn't get the email?" Mari asked, her turn to be surprised.

Fumie shook her head, reaching for the PreCure PC on her nightstand and flipping it open. "Nope...Ever since I became a Pretty Cure, I can't get any messages...it doesn't even look like the same screen anymore." She suddenly frowned, puffing her cheeks out as she stared at the blinking text line waiting for her to enter CURE. "Gosh, I wish you'd let me have a different transformation item, guys," she griped, mostly directing it at Hisa. "Like perfume, or a cell phone, or even a compact, that'd be cool!"

"Hey, we don't decide what the transformation items are!" Hisa protested. "It changes with each generation! Like, last time it was a quill, and once it was a pocketwatch, and-"

Mari, who had been watching the entire exchange with a blank look on her face, suddenly raised her hand and tilted her head. "Erm...doesn't anyone wanna shower?"

* * *

**TODAY'S EPISODE: It's War! Uncooked vs Cooked?**

* * *

The hallways were abuzz with people, as usual, but today something was off. Everyone was either giving one area a wide berth, or gravitating towards one spot. Mari and Fumie didn't know why until they came closer, and saw that a small crowd of people had gathered at the door to the cooking club room. "Eh? What's going on...?" Mari mumbled, frowning. She and Fumie exchanged a look, nodded in unison, and jogged over.

"Uhm, 'scuse me, can we see-Hey, can you guys just-Oh, come on!" Fumie whined, trying to see over the crowd and into the classroom. No one moved to make way for her, or Mari. If anything they just crammed together even tighter. They were all too busy whispering to themselves to even hear her. "Hey, one of my friends is in there, come on!" Fumie tried again.

Nothing.

Fumie was about to shout again when a slim, pale hand reached out of the crowd and grabbed her wrist. Fumie let out a short cry of surprise as she was suddenly pulled in, grabbing Mari's hand before she was submerged to take her too.

Whoever it was pulled Fumie along til they were near the front, and they moved over so Fumie and Mari could stand and have some breathing room. Fumie sighed in relief, shoulders slumping, as she looked up to see who'd helped. "Oh...thanks Kurako."

Kurako smiled a little, nodding her head before turning her attention back to the classroom. Puzzled, Fumie followed her gaze, and-

"I'm telling you, it's not fair!" someone was shouting. A girl wearing a dirty smock stood in the middle of the room, hands planted firmly on her hips. Fumie recognized her as being in the gardening club. "You know very well that we were going to have our mini farmer's market today, and we're gonna be the ones to offer our food for tasting!"

"No, we made the reservation for today fair and square!" a boy in a much-cleaner apron snapped back, arms folded over his chest. Behind him, the cooking club nodded their agreement. "You should have been faster! And besides, your food will be up for tasting-after we cook it!"

"But we wanna show people how our food tastes without cooking it! It's just as delicious that way if not more!"

Fumie glanced at Kurako again, who was biting at her knuckles. "What's going on?" she whispered.

Before Kurako could answer, Aoi looked up and towards the crowd. Her eyes widened slightly as she saw her friends, and she quickly edged away from the group, jogging over to them without anyone else noticing. "You should leave and come back later," she whispered, hands cupped around her mouth. "We'll have to cancel the demonstration if an agreement isn't reached...and they've been like this for a half hour already!"

"But what are they talking about?" Fumie whispered back.

Kurako shot her an exasperated look. "You haven't figured it out?" she asked. She discreetly pointed the the still-bickering clubs. "Apparently, the cooking club wanted another "testing" day, so to speak-you know, when they laid all their food out?" How could Fumie forget? Not only did Aoi become Cure Spice that day, but she had the hottest croquet on this side of Japan! "But the gardening club had wanted to do the same thing, only without the cooking, of course...like a market, not a buffet." She sighed, resting her head on her fist and an elbow in her palm. "But they don't want to do them both on the same day..."

"I don't see why they can't," Aoi whispered nervously, glancing over her shoulder to make sure she hadn't been noticed yet. "I've tried to suggest it, but neither wants to budge!"

"Aoi!" someone on the cooking club shouted, snapping their fingers and pointing to a spot on the floor. "Get back over here and support your club!"

Aoi winced, bowing apologetically to the girls. "I'm going to try and talk sense into everyone...Could you please wait for me at the fountain? I don't want you to see this; I'm worried it will get ugly."

Kurako bit her lower lip, nodding and frowning. "Yeah...yeah, okay. Good luck, Aoi," she called as the bespectacled girl hurried back to her group. Without another word, Kurako turned around, jerking her head towards the back of the crowd and taking Mari and Fumie's wrists. She cast one last look over her shoulder as she walked along, leaving the classroom far behind. _I hope Aoi will be alright in there..._

* * *

In Nocturna's room, the dark-haired girl had briefly regained consciousness. And she seemed to be doing a little better...the light was back in her eyes, at least, though her wounds were still as bad as ever. At the moment, she had her gaze fixed on Kemuri, who knelt on the floor before her. "You didn't get the Dream Shard," she said simply.

As Kemuri wrung her hands nervously, Chuusha snickered behind her, covering her mouth with her hand. Fureyaa, standing next to the older woman, shot her a look and quickly shook his head. Chuusha stopped laughing, but she rolled her eyes at him.

"N-No, Lady Nocturna," she mumbled, flinching a little.

Gachan seemed to materialize at Nocturna's side, placing a hand on her shoulder as he too regarded Kemuri.

"I told you I wanted that Dream Charm, Kemuri."

"I know...and it was just a fluke, I swear! Next time we'll get one-no, we'll get all the shards and make the Dream Charm ours! I promise!" she cried nervously, voice wavering a bit. it was enough to make Chuusha snicker again.

Nocturna's expression did not change. "Calm yourself," she said simply. "Kemuri, you will not be punished...beyond a stern reprimanding."

"R-Really?" Kemuri looked up, relief etched all over her face. Behind her, Fureyaa sighed in relief as Chuusha sputtered angrily. "Th-thank you so much, Lady Nocturna!" she cried, resisting the urge to run forward and clasp her hands. "I won't fail you again-I'll make you proud!"

Nocturna's mouth twitched into a joyless smile as she shook her head. "No. Not today. Chuusha," she commanded, making the older woman snap to attention. "Go find my Dream Charm and bring it back to me."

Chuusha grinned, catlike as she inclined her head. "Of course, my Lady."

Satisfied that this time the job would be done properly, Nocturna shut her eyes and lapsed back into unconsciousness.

* * *

"Ehhhh? Now Aoi can't make it?!" Kotone cried in dismay, shoulders slumping. As the trio nodded glumly, Kotone leaned back, rubbing her hands over her scalp and making a frustrated groan. "Oh, come on! First Uta was busy with Hibiki, and now she's busy again with warm-ups, and now Aoi can't make it today-I'm starting to think we're cursed!"

"You must certainly are not cursed!" Hisa's voice came from Fumie's schoolbag. The flap lifted up, and both snakes poked their heads out, Hisa glaring mildly at Kotone. "Don't speak so rashly; it's just a minor inconvenience!"

"Yeah, the only way it could be bad is if a Bakuko or someone from Mora showed up!" Kaana said cheerfully.

Everyone else startled, Fumie flailing a little. "Kaanaaaaa!" they all shouted, making her wince back into the bag.

"You're gonna jinx us!" Fumie cried as they began to walk off.

* * *

**Eyecatch 1:** Fumie stands at an easel, tongue poking out slightly as she carefully dabs some paint onto the canvas. Satisfied, she steps back and spins the easel around to reveal a watercolor of Cure Ink, the PCBE logo where a signature should be.  
**Eyecatch 2:** Kurako, Aoi, Kotone, Mari, Uta, Kaana and Hisa all sit down on the floor, watching Fumie. Fumie stands at a podium and bangs a rubber gavel, calling the club meeting to order. The PCBE logo appears in the corner.

* * *

Aoi came rushing up to Sparkling Fountain, trying to keep her grip on a large package tied in a handkerchief. "I'm here!" she panted. "I'm here!"

Kurako looked up, waving her over. "Did the clubs reach an agreement, then?"

Aoi looked disappointed, setting her box down on the fountain's edge and adjusting her glasses. "No..." she sighed. "Miss Kurumi even tried to push the gardening club out by force, but then Mister Akira from the gardening club stepped on her foot, she said it was on purpose, he said it wasn't...Three teachers had to come in and break it up." She managed a watery smile. "On the other hand, as punishment, the date's been postponed to tomorrow...it's a rather light punishment, but with everyone else's schedules so busy..."

"I still don't see why they aren't taking your suggestion," Hisa piped up from Fumie's bag.

"I think it's a matter of pride," Aoi sighed sadly. "I just wanna forget that right now-here, everyone!" She undid the knot of the handkerchief, letting it fall open to reveal several large bento. "I made lunch for everyone!" she smiled sweetly as she doled the food out.

Fumie tool her bento, eyeing it suspiciously, inspecting it from every angle. "There's nothing spicy in here, is there?"

"Fumie, don't move the box around, you'll shift the food all over the place!" Kurako snapped, already opening her box and digging in.

Aoi laughed, waving a hand dismissively. "Oh don't worry! I'm the only one with spicy food. Kurako, slow down, you're gonna choke."

As Kurako shrugged off Aoi's warning and continued shoveling food into her mouth, though still managing to look dignified about it, Kaana poked her head out of Fumie's bag, sneaking her way over to Fumie's lunch, stealing some natto. "Uwah, you're a great cook, Aoi!" she managed to say around a mouthful.

The glasses-girl blushed, hands coming up to cover her cheeks. "Thank you! Be sure to eat all of it, now!"

"We will," the others chorused, Fumie finally noticed Kaana stealing her food and crying out in indignation.

* * *

The next day, Pretty Cure stood all in a row in the courtyard early one morning, all with twin looks of shock on their faces.

Both the gardening club and the cooking club were gathered there, the gardening club with baskets of their produce, the cooking club with various boxes and trays of cooked food. And both of them were standing opposite each other, shouting angrily and thrusting their wares out as if to illustrate their points.

"They're...still at it?" Fumie mumbled.

"I...I guess the teachers didn't make them reach an agreement," Kotone added.

Aoi covered her face in embarrassment. "Come on, everyone," she sighed. "You're all right here in the same space, there's plenty of room for all of you...Just share the spot, please?"

"I told you, we've got this place first!" someone from the gardening club shouted.

"You should have sent out proper memos!" a cooking club boy snapped back. "So we're here today!"

"You just had a demonstration and now it's our turn!"

"And it sounds like they're just rehashing the same points over and over again," Kurako said, tilting her head and frowning. "Can't they think of anything original to add?"

Aoi sighed, stepping forward into the fray. "Come on, girls...we might as well see if we can try to make peace," she said, lowering her bento to the ground.

Up on the rooftop, Chuusha stood over the scene, watching with an amused smile. "Ffft...little idiots can't handle this?" She grinned, holding out a Dream-Eating Crane. "I shouldn't even have to stand here and watch, I can just drop this here, and grab some shards and leave!" She brought the crane to her face, blowing on the wings to make them move. The Dream-Eating Crane fluttered down, landing on Aoi's bento. Chuusha didn't even watch as the boxed lunch became a Bakuko, simply smirking and turning her head to look in the direction of some trees nearby. "This'll be super-easy," she smirked, vanishing.

Back down below, Aoi was trying to talk to some of the gardening club. "Look, I understand you're all upset, but surely you-"

One of the girls she was speaking to suddenly looked past her, her stubborn glare replaced by a look of horror. "Kyaaaah!" she screamed, pointing over Aoi's shoulder.

Aoi whirled around, gasping in horror herself at the sight. Her bento...her lunch for the day, that she'd intended to share with everyone...

"Aoi, trouble!" Fumie shouted, struggling to be heard over the noise of the other students screaming and running for the doors. She waved one hand over her head, reaching into her skirt pockets with the other, pulling out her PreCure PC. "Aoi!"

The girl looked towards the doors, watching as the last of the cooking club squeezed inside. Gritting her teeth, she looked at her teammates, nodding.

"Pretty Cure! Show my future!"  
"Painting the world with new tints, Cure Ink!"  
"Spinning with grace and strength, Cure Twirl!"  
"Adding flavor and zest to life, Cure Spice!"  
"Drumming a new life's rhythm, Cure Beat!"  
"Protecting everyone's dreams, Pretty Cure Bukatsudo Energetic!"

"Bakuuu!" the bento Bakuko screeched. It lifted its lid (opening its mouth, rather) and spat out giant natto beans at the girls. Everyone jumped to avoid them, though Ink was less lucky, getting bowled over and yelping.

"Ink!" Twirl yelled.

"Ugh...I think I hate natto now," Ink grumbled, rising to her feet before rushing forward, aiming a high kick at the Bakuko's legs. The Bakuko stumbled back, allowing Beat to punch its midsection. It fell back from the blow, again...

...and stepped right into a basket of vegetables.

Spice froze, eyes losing their shine.

"You won't get away so easy!" Twirl shouted, jumping up and aiming a volley of punches at the back of the monster. At the end, she spun around, spin-kicking it so hard it fell forward...and this time, stepped on a tray of croquettes.

"E-Everyone watch out!" Spice screamed, running forward. "Don't let it step in the food!" She launched herself into the air just then, shoving the Bakuko away, far from the food as she could.

The Bakuko did stumble back, but the angry eyes on its front suddenly tilted a bit more into a parody of a smirk. "Baku!" it screeched again, sending more giant natto at Spice. Spice screamed, being sent backwards. She landed on the ground, scraping her hands as she tried to brace herself, gritting her teeth in rage. "Bakubaku!" the monster laughed.

_"Stop it."_ Spice's voice was cold.

* * *

Chuusha smirked as she spotted something shiny at the base of a tree. "Aha~ here we go..." she crowed, reaching for the object-

-and there was a slight chill in the air, a breeze, and the Dream Shard was gone.

"What the-?!" she cried, whirling around. And then she spotted a girl hiding in the tree above her. "Hey, little girl, that's not yours! Give it back!"

The girl, wearing a glowing, knee-length white dress lifted her head up, leaning out slightly. Now Chuusha could see that she was quite pale, with long, lilac hair, her bangs covering her eyes. Oddly, her hair and dress moved as if the girl were underwater. She held the Dream Shard in her palm, staring down at it. Slowly she lifted her head up a tad more, and though her eyes were still covered, Chuusha could tell she was looking right at her.

_Ugh, this girl's creepy!_ Chuusha suddenly shuddered, hugging herself. "W-Well...ugh, forget it, you brat! I'll get it later then!" Chuusha snapped, cursing herself for not being able to attack her. Why? She ducked into that dark vortex and vanished, leaving the girl alone.

The girl looked back at the Dream Shard. "Pret-ty Cure..." she whispered.

* * *

_**"Stop it!"**_ Spice screamed, the light reflecting off her glasses, obscuring her eyes.

Even the Bakuko froze at that. "Baku?"

Spice clenched her hands into fists, arms trembling faintly. "You...a mockery of good food...you wasted food by stepping it, the things we all worked so hard to make...you dare to dishonor food?!" she screamed, lifting her head up. The light moved off her glasses, revealing angry tears in her eyes. _"You have no respect for food at all, and that's terrible!"_

"Spice?" Beat mumbled nervously.

Spice ran forward, leaping into the air again. The Bakuko tried to retaliate by firing the natto at her, but she effortlessly kicked or punched them away, all bu the last one. Instead, she landed on it, using it as a platform to launch herself up again, above the Bakuko. "Pretty Cure Flavor Bomb!"

The bakuko tensed up, eyes widening before they drooped. "B-Baku-!" it managed before vanishing, becoming an ordinary bento again.

Spice dropped gracefully to one knee before it, gathering the box and trying to neaten it. Pretty Cure approached her nervously, Ink holding a hand out. "Uhm...Spice?"

Cure Spice turned around...smiling sadly. "Hey, guys..." she whispered. "I don't think I like Mora at all, if they use food to make monsters too."

* * *

The next day, the courtyard was abuzz with activity again. But this time, the gardening club and cooking club were mingling with the other students, their bowls of produce and trays of cooked food laid out for sampling. Kurako smiled happily as she sampled some fresh strawberries. "Hmmmm~ They're delicious!"

"If you like that, try my Warm Strawberries Balsamic!" a boy from the cooking club chimed in, holding out a small bowl.

"Don't mind if I do!" Kurako said, taking a spork and sampling some.

A ways behind her, the other girls stood in a row, watching her eat. Fumie grinned, folding her arms over her chest. "So all they had to do was get along!" she said.

Aoi fidgeted. "Uhm..."

"They should have shared the space from the beginning, right?" Kotone added, grinning coyly at Aoi. Aoi fidgeted even more, head ducking.

"Uhmmmm..."

"See what happens when they share?" Fumie smiled.

Aoi finally snapped, stomping her foot and tilting her head skyward. "But that's what I was saying all along!" she cried in frustration.

Fumie and Kotone laughed as Kurako kept sampling food, oblivious to her roommate's frustration.

* * *

**ED: "Lead Me There" - YUME featuring Mari**

* * *

**ON THE NEXT EPISODE:**  
**Kurako:** "Oh my God, oh my God..."  
**Aoi:** "Waugh, I hope my cooking's satisfactory enough for my mother!"  
**Kurako:** "Parents' Night is so stressful!"  
**Kotone**: "In more ways than one...who's that masked guy?"  
**Fumie:** "I think I know-he's Trouble! Next time on Pretty Cure Bukatsudo Energetic: Parents' Night Rears Its Head! I'm Making You Proud, Gramma! Don't be late for next meeting!"


	8. Chapter 8

_A young girl with short black hair is being led along by the hand. One look at her uniform and little yellow hat reveals she's a kindergartner, being walked to school by her father. She looks up, smiling with wide eyes, as the distinguished, if not a big weary, man smiles back down._

_"You'll make lots of friends in school, won't you, Kurako?"_

_"Yup!"_

_The two of them walk past a middle-aged woman and a red-haired girl, going the opposite direction. This little girl, her hair in two tiny loop-odango, glances over her shoulder for a moment, sniffling as she wipes her tears with a tiny, grubby fist._

_The woman stops, reaching into her coat pocket to withdraw some tissues, dabbing the girl's eyes and then putting the tissue to her nose. "Blow."_

_Mari shuts her eyes, blowing her nose before pulling back and hiccuping a bit. Her grandmother crumples the tissue in her hand, pocketing it again. A gross thing to do, but there's no garbage can._

_And so the two girls with completely-different lives barely even noticed each other._

In her room, Mari slowly opened her eyes, staring up at the ceiling. "Gramma..."

* * *

**OP: "Purikyua Club" - Bukatsudo Four**

* * *

Gachan knelt on one knee before Nocturna, his head down. Nocturna's eyes were half-open as she stared down at him. "They haven't succeeded at all," she stated flatly.

"No, Lady Nocturna," he murmured.

The dark-haired girl sighed, sounding wearier than ever. "I can't decide if it's those Pretty Cure brats or if everyone's just weak..."

Gachan said nothing.

"Gachan, why don't you give it a try?" Nocturna asked, her eyes narrowing slightly. "You're easily the strongest fighter, and I know you couldn't fail me."

"I will not fail you, Lady Nocturna," the masked man said, rising to his feet. Nocturna smiled, cat-like, as she forced her hand out of the gelatinous substance around the chair, letting her most trusted lackey take hold of it. He pushed his mask up, only slightly, with his free hand, and gently kissed the back of her hand.

* * *

**TODAY'S EPISODE: Parents' Night Rears Its Head! I'm Making You Proud, Gramma!**

* * *

Mari took a deep breath through her nose, face a grim mask of determination. Suddenly she leaped into the air, doing a complicated set of hops and skips, flinging her arms out and bringing them to her chest over and over again, pom poms rustling. "Go, go, go! Fight, fight, fight!" she chanted in English. "Go, go, go! Fight, fight, fight!"

Pretty Cure stood in the doorway behind her, Fumie in front. Kaana and Hisa were in Kurako's arms, and they looked as puzzled as the others did. "Er-Fumie, is Mari alright?" Kaana asked.

"She's okay. Mari always gets like this before Parents' Night."

Kurako tensed up, suddenly sweating at the phrase "Parents' Night."

"What's Parents' Night?" asked Hisa with a frown.

"You don't know?" Kotone sounded surprised as she raised her brows at Hisa. "Oh, wait, maybe it doesn't exist in your world...well, Parents' Night is when the school invites everyone's parents to see how we're doing, check up on us...Some of us perform for them, like the school band, and we get to show our parents around and introduce them to our friends and teachers." She turned her attention back to Mari, still waving her pom poms and shouting. "It's more nerve-wracking for some than others."

"Yeah...poor Mari," Fumie sighed. "Hey, guys, are all your parents coming-" She suddenly stopped, blinking in surprise as she noticed Kurako had suddenly disappeared. "Hey, where'd Kurako go?"

Everyone turned their attention back to the gym, seeing that Kurako was now in her gymnastics uniform, doing a series of back-flips on the balance beam, her mouth set in a grim line.

"O-oh..."

Both girls turned to glare at the rest of the group. "If you're just gonna stand there not help, get outta here!" Kurako snapped, throwing a water bottle at Fumie's head.

* * *

"Owwwww, Kurako's strong!" Fumie whined as she walked out of the nurse's office, unaware that the green-haired woman was cheerfully waving goodbye to her. (Luckily, the other two girls did, and waved back.) "I guess it's what happens when you're a gymnast - all that exercise and pulling yourself up on those bar-thingies..."

Aoi sighed, folding her arms over her chest. "Poor Kurako...Mari's not the only one who gets so upset about Parents' Night, it seems."

Fumie straightened up, suddenly remembering something as she turned to look at the glasses-girl. "Hey, wait a second, Aoi," she said as the trio walked down the semi-crowded hallway. Everyone had been given a reprieve from classes that day, in order to prepare for their parents' arrival-rooms were being cleaned, laundry being done, various students were locating their best homework assignments to put on display. So the girls had to watch where they walked, occasionally stopping to let some frantic Atama student run across their path. "Aren't you going to make something for your parents?"

"Like what?" Aoi asked, smiling pleasantly.

"Like...like cooking," Fumie finished weakly. She then turned to look at Kotone, who was side-stepping another frantic student, hands in her pockets. "And you, Kotone-I thought the band was going to be performing for the parents. Why aren't either of you with your clubs?"

Kotone grinned, showing her teeth. "Well, we got our rehearsing out of the way early!" she beamed. "Not like the other saps who put it all off til the last minute. We'll be warming up later today; right now we're just doing whatever."

"And as for me," Aoi chimed in. "I got up early to make my mom some candy. That way I don't have to worry about crowds or trying to find a free oven!"

Hisa poked her head out of Fumie's bag, throwing the blonde a triumphant look. "See that, Fumie?" she chuckled. "Your teammates have good heads on their shoulders! I don't remember you doing anything productive for your parents."

Fumie just looked away. Seeing that made the smile drop right from Hisa's face. "Eh...Fumie?"

Fumie sighed, stopping where she was. The other two girls walked ahead two steps before realizing the blonde wasn't coming with them, and turned around. "Fumie?" Kotone asked.

Fumie shifted her feet a little, forcing a small smile onto her face. "My parents can't make it," she said simply, voice a little thick. "They never can...money issues, see..."

To her credit, Hisa at least had the decency to look guilty for her comment. The other girls' eyes widened; Aoi put her hands over her mouth. "Oh, Fumie..." Aoi gasped. "I'm sorry! Would you like to borrow _my_ mom?"

"Or you can borrow Hibiki!" Kotone chimed in.

"Hibiki, the singer here?"

"No-Hibiki, mine and Uta's-"

"Ko-to-neeeeee!" Uta suddenly shouted, rushing down the hallway. "The band's already warming up! You gotta get down there!"

"Oh, man!" Kotone cried, looking a bit panicked now. She grabbed Uta's arm and the two ran off down the hallway. Kotone looked over her shoulder, waving at the girls as she went. "Sorry, guys-I'll catch you later!"

Aoi and Fumie just stared, waving awkwardly. "Uhm...bye-bye?" Fumie mumbled.

* * *

Kurako collapsed against the wall, breathing heavily as she slid to the floor. Mari, already sitting down and just as winded, fumbled for a water bottle.

"Toss me one?" Kurako mumbled feebly. She nodded her thanks as Mari pressed a spare into her hand, then uncapped it and started chugging it. "You have someone to impress, too, huh?" she gasped at last.

Mari, her face hidden in a towel, nodded. "Uh...uh-huh..."

Kurako stared down at her lap. "Wanna talk about it?"

"No..."

Well, there went that. The darker-haired girl sighed, sipping her water at a more leisurely pace now. For a few moments, neither said anything. Finally, Kurako tilted her head back, dabbing at her face. "Well," she said at last, clearing her throat awkwardly. "Well, with as hard as you were practicing back there, I bet they'll be plenty impressed with you."

Mari smiled uncertainly, nodding.

* * *

**Eyecatch 1:** Fumie stands at an easel, tongue poking out slightly as she carefully dabs some paint onto the canvas. Satisfied, she steps back and spins the easel around to reveal a watercolor of Cure Ink, the PCBE logo where a signature should be.  
**Eyecatch 2:** Kurako, Aoi, Kotone, Mari, Uta, Kaana and Hisa all sit down on the floor, watching Fumie. Fumie stands at a podium and bangs a rubber gavel, calling the club meeting to order. The PCBE logo appears in the corner.

* * *

And finally, the parents had arrived.

Students and parents crowded the halls and classrooms, shuffled in and out of dorms, and looked around in awe at the various pieces on the walls-homework, art pieces, poetry that had been blown up and put on posters... The cooking and gardening clubs had borrowed the entire cafeteria and turned it into a buffet, with little signs over certain dishes to indicate which student was responsible for it. The band had already played a small medley for the visitors-Kotone was an excellent drummer, and Uta had gotten a solo in the vocals club's performance. Now all there was to do was spend time with family and show them around.

"Thank you very much!" Aoi smiled, bowing to a parent-and-child duo as they sampled some of her honey-chocolate. She straightened up in time to see her friends approaching with their own parents. "Oh, hello, everyone! Please, try some candy," she smiled, holding the plate out.

Kotone grinned, taking a handful. "Thanks, Aoi! Oh, everyone..." She smiled, holding her hand out as if her parent were a new car. "This is Hibiki Suzuki!" Hibiki, a rather androgynous person with shoulder-length black hair, purple eyes, and a beauty mark on the left side of the mouth, smiled back at everyone.

"You call your...dad?" Fumie glanced at the elder Suzuki for confirmation. Getting none, she returned her gaze to Kotone. "You call Suzuki by their first name?"

"Well..." Kotone began.

Hibiki chuckled, resting a hand on Kotone's shoulder. "I like it when my children call me by my first name. It helps us feel closer, I think."

"Wow..." Kurako murmured, frowning. "I could never do that with my mom or dad." Speak of the devil, a dark-haired couple was approaching her from behind the minute she said that. Kurako jumped in shock as the man, a distinguished-looking fellow in a dark blue suit, patted her head.

"Kurako, you didn't tell me you'd made friends," he chuckled.

"I-I-It slipped my mind!" Kurako stammered, blushing and swiftly looking away.

Fumie covered her mouth as she snickered. "Kurako, are you embarrassed to have befriended me?"

_"No!"_

"Oh, sweetheart, don't be embarrassed!" Mrs Kaneyama said, covering her own mouth. Kurako's mother was a tall woman with short, wavy black hair that had tinges of gray. She wore a red dress-suit, and carried around a red-pink handpurse. She pulled her hand away, a smile on her own lipsticked mouth. "I think it's wonderful that you made friends! Especially after-"

"MOOOOM!" Kurako suddenly screeched, pulling away and staring in horror. Mrs Kaneyama covered her mouth again and looked away, though she was tittering a little. Kurako stared at her feet, blushing hotly as the rest of the group just stared.

Fumie was the first to speak. "Uhm...right then! I bet Mari could use some moral support, so I should just-" She turned around to leave, only to bump straight into Mari and her grandmother.

The elderly woman laughed good-naturedly, gripping Fumie's shoulder so she wouldn't fall back. "Ah, hello, Fumie...still bumping into things, I see."

"M-M-Mrs Saito!" Fumie stammered, blushing even redder. "I was about to-" She stopped. About to what, pretend to look for her just so she didn't have to see her newer friends embarrass themselves? She pouted, puffing her cheeks out a bit more as Akina Saito patted her head.

Mari, latched onto her grandmother's side, peered nervously at the rest of the girl as the old woman spoke. "Well, how nice to see you all! Let's talk somewhere, yes?"

* * *

A short time later, Pretty Cure's parents and Mari's grandmother were sitting at one of the smaller cafeteria tables, talking and laughing together. Kurako's father, Atsushi, pulled out a wallet of Kurako's baby photos as his wife, Fujiko, laughed. Kurako herself, sitting three tables away with the girls, looked very un-amused as she angrily ate chocolate after chocolate.

"Kurako, if you don't slow down, you'll get a belly-ache," Aoi murmured.

"Lea'me 'lone," Kurako muttered, stuffing her face again.

"Hey, Aoi," Kotone suddenly said, leaning forward on her elbows. "Where're your parents? Could they make it?"

"Oh-Mama showed up already before the rush," Aoi explained, waving her hand dismissively. "She didn't want to take attention away from anyone today."

"Take attention away?" Kotone and Fumie leaned forward, wanting to hear more. Aoi just laughed nervously and shook her head.

Mari, silent through the whole conversation as she morosely sipped her juice box, lifted her eyes to watch Akina. The elderly woman was smiling and nodding in agreement with something Hibiki was saying before showing off her new bracelet-and the pretty diamond dangling off it. Mari wondered what was going on over there...her grip on the juice box tightened, crumpling the cardboard a little. She suddenly jumped as she felt a hand on her shoulder, and looked to see Fumie smiling gently at her. The blonde tilted her head a little, mouth opening slightly, and Mari couldn't help smile back, still nervous.

High above the scene, Gachan stood in the rafters, a Dream-Eating Crane in his cupped hands. "So many dreams..." he muttered. "Surely, one of you has a Dream Shard...I can feel it," he intoned, suddenly crushing the crane in his hands. Despite the tenseness in his hands, the way they ground against the black paper, his tone was still calm as ever. He separated his hands, revealing the crane had been crushed to a fine black powder, and tossed it into the air, where it slowly rained down upon the people in the cafeteria.

One by one, the people in the cafeteria started to look as drained as the student Kemuri attacked had been - their shoulders slumped, they slouched where they stood/sat, and dark shadows appeared under the now-dull eyes. One woman looked to her son standing beside her, muttering "Your test scores weren't high enough..."

"You miss-stepped in your performance today," mumbled one woman, staring blankly at the floor.

"Why aren't you in the lead chair?" someone else muttered, staring blankly at his daughter. "You said you'd be lead chair this year..."

"Wha-what's going on?" Fumie suddenly cried, standing up as she looked around nervously.

"What's with the parents - _our_ parents?!" Kotone cried, bolting away from the table. The same thought running through the other girls' heads, they followed her to the table where their parents/grandmother sat slumped over the table, dark auras around them. "Hibiki!" Kotone cried, shaking the adult by the shoulders.

The elder Suzuki slowly turned to look at her with dull, shadowed eyes. "Kotone," they muttered darkly. "Why didn't you get a solo like your sister did? You said you'd have one - I bragged about you to my friends..."

"H-Hibiki, snap outta it!" Kotone cried, trying to ignore the beginnings of tears in her eyes as she shook her parent.

"Kurako," Atsushi spoke up next, leveling his hardening gaze on her. "You shouldn't be here...gymnastics will only get you so far...Why didn't you go into real business, took care of yourself?"

Kurako flinched, the words cutting into her like a knife. "P-Papa?" she whispered, stepping back._ Is that really what he thinks? He thinks I shouldn't have followed my own dream?_

Mari was hugging herself in fright as she looked around the room, seeing all the students and parents suffering like this. This was nothing like when the student Hibiki had been infected. Now there were far more people...and parents, too, and-

-and her Gramma!

"Gramma!" Mari cried, tearing up as the elderly woman approached her, one of many parents finding their children, muttering about how their hopes in them were all gone, ruined. Mari covered her ears, shutting her eyes tight as she tried not to cry. _No, no, no, I don't wanna hear any of it! I don't mean to disappoint you!_

Something in Fumie snapped when she saw Mari tearing up. Clenching her hands into fists, she turned to catch the gaze of her teammates. "Everyone! We gotta transform!"

After only a few moments' hesitation, the girls nodded, casting desperate looks at their parents.

"Pretty Cure! Show my future!"  
"Painting the world with new tints, Cure Ink!"  
"Spinning with grace and strength, Cure Twirl!"  
"Adding flavor and zest to life, Cure Spice!"  
"Drumming a new life's rhythm, Cure Beat!"  
"Protecting everyone's dreams, Pretty Cure Bukatsudo Energetic!"

And...none of them dared to move. The quartet just stood with their backs to each other, staring around the crowd of parents and students. Ink's lower lip quivered a bit.

"Pretty Cure!" Hisa cried, poking her head from Fumie's bag again. "What's wrong? Get out there and fight!"

"But...these are...these are everyone's parents," Ink mumbled, eyes shiny. "Twirls, Beat's, Mari's gramma..."

Gachan chuckled darkly, suddenly dropping to the middle of the room, catching Pretty Cure's attention. He landed gracefully, straightening up and adjusting the mask slightly. "So, I found a weak spot at last then," he said simply.

Beat paled. "Wh-who are you?" she demanded. "Have you come to destroy all worlds?"

"Hmmm...I don't plan on destroying any worlds. Just you," Gachan sounded like he was smirking, but with his entire face hidden, it was hard to tell. "And you daren't attack the parents, do you?"

"Kurako."

Twirl tensed up, turning around to see her parents glancing around for her, not recognizing her in her new form. To her surprise, they no longer looked so...dull. A little bit of shine was returning to her father and mother's eyes. Her mother held onto Atsushi's shoulder for support as she muttered. "Kurako...Little Kurako, you finally made friends...you're happy."

"M-Mama?" Twirl gasped as the shadows vanished from her parents' eyes and the dark auras dissipated, and the two slumped to the floor. "What's-"

"Kotone..." Hibiki murmured. "You didn't get a solo...but you looked so happy. You were on stage, just like you always wanted..." The aura started to fade as a small smile appeared on the elder Suzuki's lips. "I'm...so proud of you."

"What is this?" Gachan softly demanded as he looked around. All around him, parents were smiling, slumping to the floor, in chairs, against the walls, with their children. The dark auras were all fading away, color returning to their faces. "What's going on?"

"You don't see, do you?" Spice murmured gently, stepping forward. She smiled, clasping her hands at her chest. "None of the parents' dreams are taken from them...because all they wanted was to see their children happy. And we are happy, so their ultimate dreams came true."

"Mama...Mama and papa don't care I'm a gymnast!" Twirl snapped, stepping forward herself and clenching a fist. "They're just glad that - that I'm not lonely anymore!"

"Hibiki got to see me perform in front of a crowd!" Beat smirked. "And thought I was awesome! That's a dream come true right there!"

Away from the crowd, Mari still trembled, hands over her ears. She tensed up as her grandmother touched her shoulder, but when nothing else happened, opened her eyes and pulled her hands from her ears.

Akina smiled sweetly, staring into Mari's eyes. "...you're a good girl, Mari. I love you."

"G-Gramma..." Mari whimpered, suddenly rushing forward to hug Akina as her legs buckled.

"We don't need to fight anyone here," Ink began. Then she surged forward, leaping into the air and driving her knee into Gachan's masked face. "But you!"

The man fell backward, growling slightly as he regained his balance. "Why, you-" he began. He was interrupted by the rest of the girls just then. Pretty Cure, having followed Ink's lead, jumped at him, one after another, each driving either a powerful kick or a straight punch onto him, each blow making him fall back. He stumbled backwards from the last blow, courtesy of Twirl, glaring at the girls from under his mask. "Pretty Cure...you don't know what you're causing...what you're enabling to happen..."

"You can't fool us with lies!" Beat cried just then. "Not getting the best of us today! Pretty Cure Drum-Roll Anticipation!"

The purple light shot straight at Gachan, smacking his face. As he fell back, hairline cracks started to appear in the center of the mask, moving vertically until the mask broke in half, both pieces clattering to the ground. And pretty Cure finally saw his face. "My...mask..." Gachan gasped, lifting his head. Beat gasped slightly; Gachan had a thin, handsome face, with one gold eye and one ice-blue. But the side with the blue eye had a black mark all over it; a large black mark that looked like cracks and webbing covered the right side of his face. For a moment, his expression looked positively murderous, but he snatched half the mask up, pressing it to his face to hide the blemished side. "I will remember this, Pretty Cure," he intoned, vanishing into the dark void.

* * *

By sunset, everyone was back to normal. No one remembered what had happened to them, simply thought that the time had flown by without their noticing. And now it was time for the parents to leave. Kurako and the Suzuki twins stood off to the side to bid their parents farewell (Kurako surprised them both by lunging forward to hug them tightly), while Fumie and Mari stood before Akina. Aoi stood in the background, giving everyone some privacy.

"Now," Akina said to Mari, petting her head. "Just continue what you're doing, Mari dear, and you'll be fine. I'll see for the holidays."

Mari nodded, sniffling a little bit again. "I will, Gramma..."

"Oh, and Fumie..." Akina turned to the blonde, reaching up to unfasten her bracelet and hand it to her. "I can't quite explain it, but I feel like I should be giving you this..."

"Huh?" Fumie looked down at it, gasping as she recognized the Dream Shard on it. "B-but how-?"

"Oh dear!" Akina gasped, checking her watch. "My train leaves soon. Girls, just do what you're doing already, as I said before." She smiled warmly. "I'll tell your parents that you're doing well, Fumie."

Fumie nodded, holding the bracelet to her chest, feeling the warmth that the Dream Shard gave off. "Thanks, Mrs Saito!"

And then, all five girls waved as their respective guardians left.

* * *

"So you couldn't get 'em either, huh?" Kemuri snickered, leaning over Gachan's shoulder.

The man said nothing.

"Hey, Gachan!" Chuusha called from where she stood. "Don't look too glum. After all, now you're in the Losers Club with the rest of us. And we'll crush Pretty Cure next time for sure."

"Mmmm..."

"Hey, Gachan," Fureyaa spoke up, suddenly appearing over Gachan's other shoulder. "How come ya didn't show us your face sooner? Even seeing only half of it is pretty cool-and you look awesome!"

He paused. "Do I now?"

"Yup!" Kemuri and Fureyaa chorused, giving him the thumbs-up as Chuusha just shrugged.

Gachan allowed a tiny smile to grace his features.

* * *

**ED: "Lead Me There" - YUME featuring Mari**

* * *

**ON THE NEXT EPISODE:**  
**Kotone:** "U-Uta, what's gotten into you?!"  
**Fumie:** "Mari too! They're both acting so weird!"  
**Kurako:** "Girls, stop it! We're your friends, remember?"  
**Mari:** "Why are our dreams being taken away...?"  
**Fumie:** "Next time on Pretty Cure Bukatsudo Energetic: A Downer of a Downpour! Uta and Mari are Brainwashed! Don't be late for next meeting!"


	9. Chapter 9

Hisa looked dismally at Himemiya, who was now glad in a gold version of her usual dress. She leaned forward, gently nudging her with her snout. "It's been a while now," she murmured. "And you're not any better and the Dream Charm is still broken..." She sighed, straightening up and looking out the window at the darkening sky filled with ominous gray clouds. "And on top of that...we sent five messages, we asked five girls to become Pretty Cure, Princess," she went on, speaking to Himemiya as if she could hear her. "But there's only four right now..."

"Big sister, who're you talking to?"

Hisa startled, whirling around to see Kaana slithering towards the nightstand where the other two sat. The younger smiled curiously at her, tilting her head to one side. "Huh?"

"N-No one," Hisa muttered, flushing pink. "Where have you been?"

Kaana beamed, pressing herself to the ground and wiggling out of the thread that looped around her neck to hold the tiny bag in place. Freeing herself and nudging the bag open, she added "I've been hunting for Dream Shards! Because Pretty Cure are too busy-"

"-or Fumie's too incompetent," muttered Hisa. Louder, she added "And did you find any?"

"Just two," Kaana said, suddenly looked rather depressed. "And it wasn't easy...and someone stepped on my tail!"

"Never mind about that-get up here and we'll-" Hisa began, interrupted by the door suddenly bursting open. Fumie rushed inside, dropped her schoolbag on the bed, and then rushed back out, yelling something about being right back, she wanted to get a soda first. Hisa and Kaana just sat there, Kaana looking puzzled, Hisa looking very agitated. "Ahem. We'll add the shards to the Dream Charm, and then we'll have to rally the girls. There's still so much they don't know."

* * *

**OP: "Purikyua Club" - Bukatsudo Four**

* * *

"Ehhhhh?" Mari cried, eyes wide and shiny with disappointment. "But you said we were gonna get takoyaki together! You totally promised, Fumie-tan!" Mari whined, stomping her foot.

Fumie stood in front of her, clapping her hands together at face-level and ducking her head. "I know, I know, and I'm real sorry! But Hisa says this is Pretty Cure business, and I asked if you could join us or it could wait til later, but..." She suddenly shuddered, flashing back to the look of anger on Hisa's face as she had said that-she'd never seen such a dark look on a snake before. "I promise, we'll do something together tomorrow, okay?"

"B-but I have cheer practice tomorrow!"

"After your practice then." Fumie smiled apologetically, clapping her hands over Mari's shoulders. "I promise we'll do something fun soon, okay?"

Mari lowered her head a bit, biting at her lower lip. "I hope so...I don't wanna be locked outta the loop forever, Fumie-tan. Or - or worse, if you spend all your time with them and then they'll your bestest friends forever and I'll be left out in the coooold..." Mari's eyes grew bigger, swimming with tears as she sniffled pathetically. "I dun wanna not be your best friend..."

Fumie laughed, shaking her head and patting Mari's shoulders in attempts to comfort her. "That won't happen, Mari! You're always gonna be my best friend, 'k? And I promise, soon as this meeting is over, we-"

"Fu-mi-e!" Kurako shouted from inside Fumie's room. "Get in here or we'll lock you out and you won't get any of Aoi's snacks!" Aoi could be heard protesting, saying of course Fumie would still have her snacks, but Kurako and Hisa just shushed her.

"Aheheh...I'm needed! Bye, Mari!" Fumie blurted out, ducking back into her room. She held the door open slightly a few moments longer, watching Mari dry her crocodile-tears and give her the thumbs-up. Smiling and returning the gesture, Fumie slowly shut the door.

* * *

TODAY'S EPISODE: A Downer of A Downpour! Uta and Mari Are Brainwashed!

* * *

In Despair Horizon, three of Nocturna's generals were seated around a small table, a board game between them. Chuusha rested a head on her palm as she rolled the dice. "Fureyaa's late," she muttered, gripping her game-piece and moving it five spaces forward.

"Well, maybe he's out attacking Pretty Cure," Kemuri answered, taking the dice and rolling them herself. She made a face as she only got a two.

"He can't be - it's not his turn today, and you know how much of a bleeding-heart he is," Chuusha snorted, both at the description of Fureyaa's incompetence and Kemuri's rotten luck. As Gachan took the dice and started to shake them in his hand, she went on. "If he is after them today, we're all doomed."

Kemuri shot Chuusha a smug look, raising an eyebrow as she rested her elbows on the table. "Oh, Fureyaa will be the cause of us losing to Pretty Cure? What about you, hm? You had a Dream Shard in your hands and you just gave it to a hallucination."

Chuusha's face darkened as she reached over the table and smacked Kemuri upside the head. "You weren't there!" she snarled as Kemuri clutched her head in pain. "She looked-she looked so freaky! And just..." Chuusha's eyes narrowed as she shuddered involuntary. "Looking at her gave me such awful chills...I felt I should drop to my knees and plead for mercy."

"You? Pleading for mercy? Wow, I ought to meet this hallucination and shake her hand!"

"I told you, it wasn't-!"

Gachan suddenly released the dice, letting them fall to the game board with a loud clatter. The two females looked to him in wide-eyed surprise as he calmly moved his game piece. "That's enough, you two. Fighting among the ranks doesn't get us anywhere, either...And if Fureyaa's absence bothers you so much, Chuusha, then Kemuri and I will go find him, and Pretty Cure, ourselves." The one visible corner of his mouth turned up slightly as his game piece reached the center star pattern on the board. "Game."

* * *

"You know about the Dream Charm, but you're still clueless about Mora," Hisa began, looking at each girl in turn with a serious look on her face. Aoi, Kurako, and Kotone nodded in interest. Hisa's gaze then landed on Fumie, and she glared at her. "Fumie! Stop eating!"

Fumie swallowed her cookie, reaching into the box on Aoi's lap for another. "But they're so tasty!" she whined.

Kurako sighed and reached over to shut the box without even looking. At Fumie's whine of protest, she added "I eat far more than you do and I'm keeping my appetite in line. I think you can do the same thing."

"Thank you, Kurako," Hisa sighed, shutting her eyes and shaking her head. "As I was saying...Mora.

"Long ago, the Dream Charm had been threatened, much lie it is now. However, it wasn't shattered, merely stolen...No one knew who had taken it, and scoured all of Dream Peaks and all of Earth to find it. The culprits finally revealed themselves; an evil group calling themselves Mora. Pretty Cure went after them to retrieve the Charm Charm, and they eventually sealed Mora away, and returned the Charm to its rightful place..." Hisa's expression suddenly looked uneasy.

Aoi picked up on this, leaning forward and resting her hands in her lap. "There's a 'but,' isn't there?" she asked softly.

Hisa nodded hesitantly.

Now Kaana spoke up-to her credit, she was taking this seriously as her sister was. "Pretty Cure did seal Mora away...but at the cost of their own lives. We've no idea how it even happened...and the bodies were never recovered. They'd all just flown into the sky after Mora and then...they never came back down. But everyone knew that they'd all..." Kaana swallowed, looking down at the surface she sat on, imagining how it must have looked. Five people, clad in bright colors and matching heart-emblems on their chests, floating lifeless among the stars. She hadn't been alive when this had happened-not even her parents had been, so she could only imagine them based on the large tapestry that hung in the palace back home.

"That's what it means to swear on the lives of past Pretty Cure. It's the most solemn vow we have," Hisa put in.

Fumie stared, wide-eyed and pale. Next to her, the other girls looked the same way as they digested this information. Kotone was the first to speak. "H-Hold up now!" she blurted, rising to her feet. "You mean to say-we could die? I didn't sign up to die, man-we have to achieve our dreams first!"

"You won't die!" Hisa snapped. "Not as long as you work hard."

"Oh come on-with something as powerful as Mora..." Kotone went on. "I mean-you said they were sealed away by the other Cures. But here they are again! Explain that!" she cried, gesturing wildly with her hands.

Aoi gasped, covering her mouth with one hand. She hadn't thought of that. "Maybe...maybe they're not quite as strong anymore?" she ventured. "We have been defeating every monster they throw at us...and they all seem to retreat afterwards, so maybe..."

Hisa frowned, hmmm-ing to herself.

* * *

Mari shuffled dejectedly down the hallway, eyes on the ground. She heaved a sigh._ It's just not fair...if I was Pretty Cure, I bet I'd be able to spend more time with Fumie-tan...We'd still be together, like we always were..._

She suddenly paused by the door to the music room, hearing voices from inside. "Eh? Who's this?" she mumbled, pressing her ear to the door.

A familiar voice was giggling faintly. "...you're so funny."

"Hee~! ...and then...we should totally go out and..."

"Yeah, that'd be fun! ...can't tell Kotone though...Dun worry, I'll...to her..."

"Hey, what's goin' on in here?" Mari suddenly called out, slamming the door open. She stood there in the doorway, staring at the room's occupant. Seemingly its only occupant.

Uta stood in the middle of the room, hands clasped behind her back as she smiled nervously. "A-Ah, Mari! What brings you here?"

Mari looked confused, tilting her head as she walked in. "I was lonely, so I just...Uta, were you talking to someone?"

"N-No, I was rehearsing for a play!"

"But you're not in the drama club..."

Inside the utility closet, Fureyaa stood stock-still, sweating profusely, heart hammering in his chest as he praised himself on his quick thinking and narrow escape.

* * *

**Eyecatch 1:** Fumie stands at an easel, tongue poking out slightly as she carefully dabs some paint onto the canvas. Satisfied, she steps back and spins the easel around to reveal a watercolor of Cure Ink, the PCBE logo where a signature should be.  
**Eyecatch 2:** Kurako, Aoi, Kotone, Mari, Uta, Kaana and Hisa all sit down on the floor, watching Fumie. Fumie stands at a podium and bangs a rubber gavel, calling the club meeting to order. The PCBE logo appears in the corner.

* * *

The rain began to fall slowly at first, with a few drops spread far apart and hitting the pavement. But then it was as if the floodgates had been opened, and soon the ground was completely-soaked, windows streaked with water. The sky was dark, as if it were evening when it was only mid-afternoon, and no one dared go outside.

Well, one person was out there. Hiding under a tree in the courtyard, the long-haired, transparent girl looked down at the Dream Shard in her hands, then looked up at the clouds. _"Hyuu..."_

On the other side of the campus, the dark vortex appeared, quickly fading to reveal Gachan and Kemuri, Gachan holding a black umbrella over his head. Kemuri hugged herself, sneezing. "Ewww! Why'd it have to be raining?" she whined.

Gachan wordlessly held the umbrella so they were both shielded from the rain. "Perhaps we should hurry, then," he said simply.

Kemuri sniffled. "Y-yeah..."

* * *

"Uhm, Mari, shouldn't you be with Fumie?" Uta asked, nervously shifting her gaze to the closet every now and then.

Mari didn't notice Uta's discomfort, or where she kept looking. Instead, she began to pout, grabbing a lock of her hair and smoothing it between her hands. "Hnnn...she and the other girls are havin' a Pretty Cure meeting. Only Pretty Cure, so I'm not invited. And Fumie-tan promised we'd go out to eat today!"

"I dunno if you should go out today, anyway...it's pouring out there," Uta noted, looking towards the window, watching the water streak down the glass surface.

"I have an umbrella!" Mari protested.

Inside the closet, Fureyaa sighed quietly, eyes to the keyhole. "Come on, come on," he whispered. "Leave already...it's cramped in here..."

Mari stood straighter, looking towards the closet. "Say...did you hear something?"

"N-Nope!"

Outside, perched on the overhanging roof above the window, Kemuri and Gachan knelt down, Dream-Eating Cranes in hand. Kemuri shot Gachan a cat-like grin, shifting her hold on the origami crane. "This ought to get them, right? These two are close to the Cure brats, but their dreams aren't for them to simply be happy!"

Gachan said nothing, simply leaned further down, outstretching an arm and casually unlocking the window...

* * *

"You shouldn't worry, though!" Kaana was saying, trying to calm down the panicking girls. All of them sat there, pale, biting their knuckles or gesturing wildly as they shouted that they didn't want to get killed-yes they knew they were supposed to be legendary warriors, but they weren't supposed to die in battle, that wasn't how it worked! "I mean-there are four of you, and like Aoi said, Mora's retreating after every battle! And we sent out five messages! Why, I bet that once we get the fifth girl, you'll beat up Mora once and for all!"

Fumie's door burst open just then. Fumie stood up hastily, saying "Mari, I told you we'd hang out later-" but it wasn't Mari at the door.

Fureyaa stood in the doorway, one hand gripping the frame for support as he panted, looking at the group in desperation. "P-Pretty Cure..." he gasped.

Hisa glared. "What do you want?" she snapped. "Here to attack us again?"

"N-No, Hisa, I don't think that's it at all," Aoi said, taking in Fureyaa's expression and overall tired, frightened appearance. "Fureyaa, what's-"

The darker-skinned boy swallowed, lifting his eyes to meet Aoi's. "I-It's Uta," he gasped.

* * *

Mari and Uta, dark auras pulsating around them, shuffled in the rain, half-closed, lifeless eyes scanning the area. Their dreams were all gone, all gone, they had nothing to fight for anymore...They had to find some Dream Shards, use them to get their dreams back...

Though the two stood in a tree high above them, Kemuri and Gachan could still be heard. "It's Pretty Cure's fault, isn't it, Mari?" Gachan intoned. "Pretty Cure's taking away your dreams."

"Pretty Cure..." Mari echoed, growling a little as her hands curled into fists.

"If Pretty Cure were gone, I bet you'd have your dreams come true in a snap," Kemuri offered, smirking as the two girls nodded dully in agreement. "We'd make your dreams come true...if you'd destroy Pretty Cure, and give us the Dream Shards you find."

"Yeah..."

"Mari! Uta!"

Kemuri turned to see four girls rushing towards their weak-willed puppets, not noticing how Gachan suddenly vanished. "Hey, the fun's starting! How'll you handle this blow, Pretty Cure?" she snickered.

The girls skidded to a stop, Fumie slipping a little from the wet pavement. Already the girls were drenched, but that didn't matter at the moment. All any of them focused on was their friends, robbed of their dreams. "M-mari?" Fumie gasped. "Mari-!"

Mari suddenly rushed at her, hands landing squarely on Fumie's stomach and sending her flying backwards. Fumie cried out as she fell near the end, landing in a puddle.

"M-mari..." she groaned.

Even from where she lay, she could hear Mari's whispered murmurs. "I want to be Pretty Cure...but why won't you let me? I wanna be special like you are; I wanna be a Pretty Cure, too..."

"Uta! Hey, Uta!" Kotone shouted, trying to dodge Uta's swipes at her. "I don't wanna fight you, but-but if I have to, I will!" she snapped. Unfortunately, she didn't sound convinced at all. "Uta!"

Uta looked at her sister with blank eyes, not saying a word even as Aoi grabbed her from behind and held her arms still. Then she went limp and heavy, forcing Aoi to lose her grip on her.

Kurako, meanwhile, was kneeling beside Fumie as Mari stalked over to them. "Fumie, get up! Fumie!"

"I-I'm okay..." Fumie groaned as she pushed herself up. Mari...is this really what you want? But out loud, she said something entirely different. "These Mora guys aren't playing fair at all! First our parents, now our best friends?" She looked up, eyes darkening in anger. "That's so not fair!" She stood up then, catching everyone else's attention. "I sure don't wanna get killed in battle, but it ain't gonna be today. And no one messes with my best friend!"

She caught everyone's eye, and they nodded as one.

"Pretty Cure! Show my future!"  
"Painting the world with new tints, Cure Ink!"  
"Spinning with grace and strength, Cure Twirl!"  
"Adding flavor and zest to life, Cure Spice!"  
"Drumming a new life's rhythm, Cure Beat!"  
"Protecting everyone's dreams, Pretty Cure Bukatsudo Energetic!"

"First things first!" Ink shouted, reaching for around her neck. "We'll take the Dream Charm and...and..." Her confident expression slowly turned to one of horror. "O-ohhhh no."

Fumie, we have to hurry!" Kurako shouted as everyone rushed from the room.

"R-Right!" Fumie called back, running after them, not noticing that she'd left a slightly-bigger Dream Charm on her nightstand.

"Ohhhh nonononono," she started panicking, bringing her arms up as Uta and Mari rushed her at once, each aiming a punch at her head.

"Ink, you-!" Twirl shouted, suddenly appearing to kick the two mind-control victims away. She landed in what should have been a graceful landing, but the rain had made the pavement slick and she slipped a little. "Where's the Dream Charm?"

"I-I think I left it."

* * *

Inside, Kaana had been coiled up, napping next to Himemiya, the Dream Charm glowing softly beside her. Hisa sat near her, eyeing the Charm and the princess in concern. "We're nearly halfway there," she said quietly. "But..."

Behind her, a dark vortex appeared, and Gachan stepped out of it. He smiled, his grin nearly splitting his face as he quietly approached the desk.

* * *

"You what?!" everyone shouted at once.

"I'm sorryyyy!" Ink wailed.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, there was a faint whistling sound, and a streak of bright, white light heading directly at Ink's head. The item bounced off her head, landing in her outstretched hand. "Wh-what?" she gasped.

Kemuri narrowed her eyes from her perch, leaning forward. "What...?"

Ink held the Dream Shard to her face, eyes wide and shining. From behind her, she heard Beat whisper in awe _"Deux ex machina..."_ But there wasn't any time to worry on where it had come from or who had thrown it. She held it out at arm's length at the rapidly-approaching Mari and Uta, shutting her eyes tightly as the brilliant light flashed from it. The shadows faded from their eyes slightly, shine returning to them.

"Girls...your dreams aren't destroyed! You still have them, you can still achieve them if your hearts are strong!" Ink stood up. "And Mari...I believe that you can be Pretty Cure!" Wouldn't it be nice... "Alright! Pretty Cure Color Splash!"

The familiar light bathed both girls, their eyes widening before closing in peace. As the light faded, Beat caught Uta in her arms as Mari fell face-first into Ink. The Dream-Eating Cranes appeared in mid-air over their hearts before disintegrating into nothingness.

"Th-the heck?!" Kemuri screeched, stomping her foot on the tree branch. Doing so caused her to unbalance, and she suddenly fell onto the wet grass, screaming in irritation. "You'll pay for this, Pretty Cure!" she screamed, suddenly vanishing into the dark vortex.

Later, everyone sat in Fumie's room, wearing pajamas and holding blankets around themselves. Fumie sneezed. "Wagh...why'd you guys have to go outside?" she mumbled.

"I didn't mean to," Mari and Uta chorused, snuggling further into their blankets.

"Ugh...this day can't get any worse..." Kurako muttered, right before Fumie's nightstand drawer started rattling.

Everyone glanced at each other, Fumie reaching out to open it. She gasped as Kaana and Hisa popped up, eyes wild. "Y-you guys! What're-"

"Where's the Dream Charm?!" Hisa demanded.

* * *

"And now my dress is_ soaked!_" Kemuri whined, biting at her knuckles, one hand clenched over her chest. "Those Pretty Cure brats'll pay, mark my words!"

"Hmmmm..."

She turned to her teammate, frowning. "And hey, Gachan-you weren't there at the end of it! What happened?"

Gachan smiled ever so faintly again, reaching into the lapels of his coat. And then withdrew the partially-assembled Dream Charm.

* * *

**ED: "Lead Me There" - YUME featuring Mari**

* * *

**ON THE NEXT EPISODE:**  
**Kotone:** "I can't believe this! We were only gone for a second!"  
**Kurako:** "Argh, we'll have to get it back!"  
**Fumie:** "Guys..."  
**Aoi:** "Wait a minute, guys-there's another Shard over at...the amusement park?"  
**Hisa:** "Girls, this isn't a time for fun and games!"  
**Fumie:** "Guys, I don't feel so good..."  
**Mari:** "Don't worry, Fumie-tan! I, your bestest friend forever, will serve as your replacement for this venture!"  
**Kotone:** "Next time on Pretty Cure Bukatsudo Energetic: Substitute-Fumie? We Are Not Amused! Don't be late for next meeting!"


	10. Chapter 10

Mari sat on the edge of Fumie's bunk, poking her side. She couldn't see her blonde roomie, except for a mess of damp blonde curls peering out from under the blankets. "Fumie-tan, shouldn't you be getting up soon?" she asked.

Fumie only moaned in response.

"Oh, come on now, Fumie!" Hisa snapped, slithering forward on the girl's pillow. She started to nudge the blankets down, away from her face. "A legendary warrior shouldn't spend her day sleep-whoa!"

The blankets slid down to reveal Fumie's face; her very pale face. Fumie stared blankly ahead, her eyes a bit dull, shadows and lines under them, her lips parted faintly. She inhaled a rattling breath, licking her cracked lips and smiling faintly. "H-heh...'m sick, Hisa..."

* * *

**OP: "Purikyua Club" - Bukatsudo Four**

* * *

Fumie sat upright now, several pillows supporting her back, the blankets wrapped snugly around her. She held a box of tissues in her lap, several tissues crumpled up on the floor. The blonde sneezed loudly, the fifth time in a few short minutes, and blew her nose again. Then she smiled sadly at the girls gathered in her room, standing a safe distance away. "S-shoree guish..."

"Fumie...y-you can't be sick!" Kurako snapped, stomping her foot childishly. "What about the Dream Charm? We have to get it back!"

"I know, I know...ah-ker-tchoo!" Fumie sneezed again, and Kurako immediately flinched back. "But...but I dun think I kin make it today...'d jusht drag ush all down..."

"Don't say that, Fumie," Aoi offered, stepping forward to place a hand on Fumie's shoulder. "You would never...not that you should come with us anyway, we don't need you getting sicker!" she hastily added.

"Or giving us your snot-bombs," Kotone deadpanned.

"Kotone!"

"What? 'm just sayin'!"

"But we have to get the Charm back! Or find the shards or-" Hisa demanded from her position on Fumie's blankets.

Mari, who'd been sitting at the edge of the bed this entire time, saying nothing, suddenly stood up. She beamed at everyone, hands planted on her hips. "Well, never fear, any of you!" she announced, then winked. "because while Fumie-tan rests and recovers, I, her awesome and cute bestest friend forever, shall fill in her spot!"

For a long time, no one said anything. They all just stared blankly; one could almost hear a whistle of wind. Finally, Hisa broke the silence. "What."

Mari just grinned obliviously.

* * *

**TODAY'S EPISODE: Substitute-Fumie? We Are Not Amused!**

* * *

Kemuri dropped to her knees, hands clutching at her chest as she hissed through gritted teeth. "G-Gachan, do you have to wave it around?" she groaned, cracking one eye open and glaring up at him.

Gachan stood in the center of the room, holding the Dream Charm up as if to catch the light, watching as it swiveled on its chain. His free hand covered his own chest, though he hid his pain better than Kemuri did. "I am not waving it around...someone has to hold onto it for safe-keeping until Lady Nocturna is well enough to see."

Standing behind him, her arms folded over her voluptuous chest, Chuusha snorted. "Yeah, real nice of her...sleeping when we finally get the Charm..."

"Chuusha." Gachan's one visible eye was cold and steely. "You know full well..."

"Yeah, yeah," the white-blonde woman muttered, instantly placated. A sudden, slight noise caught her her attention, and she suddenly whirled around, flinging one of her arms out, sending a spray of hair-thin needles into the darkness.

A familiar voice cried out, and the figure was suddenly illuminated. Fureyaa stood there, awkwardly and comically posed on one foot, his arms wrapped around himself, eyes wide as he saw his cape pinned to the floor by several needles. "G-Geez, Chuusha, it's only me!" he laughed nervously, trying to free his cape.

Chuusha merely glared. "And where have you been lately?" she snarled.

"I was uhm...out and about. Looking around for Dream Shards, you know-"

"Then why haven't you found any?"

"Uhm...bad luck?" Fureyaa was rewarded by a sharp slap upside the head. "Ow!"

"You've been disappearing a lot lately, and you never come back with anything!" Chuusha snapped, lifting her hand again and punching Fureyaa on the same spot as last time. "Not to mention your stupid refusal to use the cranes, and you just-arrrrgh, I'm starting to wonder if you're even with us anymore!"

"I am, I am!" Fureyaa hastily cried, ducking his head and covering it with his arms. "Honest, Chuusha-I wanna find more Dream Shards to aid Nocturna, I really do! 's'just...well, I'm just..." I'm not like the rest of you, he wanted to say. But, knowing it would only earn him another punch, he kept his mouth shut. "I'll do...better," he promised, not daring to say what he had in mind.

_Please, forgive me._

* * *

"So..." Kurako deadpanned, shifting her purse from one shoulder to the other. "Why are we at an amusement park?"

And indeed, they were. Three of the four Pretty Cure, plus Hisa and Mari, stood in a line in the center of the busy park. Pretty Cure and Hisa wore looks that ranged from confusion to irritation, while Mari stood there with wide, sparkling eyes and an open smile. She was wearing, curiously enough, a long trench-coat held shut with a heart-shaped pin. "Well," she began, smiling cheerfully at the others. "Monsters on TV like to show up where people are! And the bad guys on TV like to attack places where there are lots of people! And an amusement park has tons of people!"

"And you think there's a Dream Shard here?" Hisa muttered.

"Oh, sure! And if not, then the bad guys might attack here anyway and we can all kick their butts!"

There was an odd, thick silence just then as everyone stared blankly at the redhead. Aoi finally tilted her head, putting a hand to her mouth. "'We?'" she murmured.

"'All?'" Kotone muttered herself, eyebrows high.

Mari, seemingly oblivious to her little blunder and everyone else's reactions to it, just thrust a fist into the air, giving a few excited hops. "Alright! Let's all look around the amusement park for a Dream Shard, Pretty Cures!" she cheered, rushing into the crowds.

"She just wants to play, that's all it is," Hisa muttered darkly from Kotone's shoulder as everyone followed after Mari.

* * *

Kaana sat on Fumie's pillow, watching the blonde sleep. She leaned over, nudging her face a bit and giving her cheek a little lick. "Fumie?" she whispered.

No answer. Of course.

Kaana sighed. "I hope everyone finds the Charm soon...Himemiya probably doesn't like being a stuffy. And you guys are gonna be good Pretty Cure, I know it, but..." Her face fell, eyes clouding over sadly. "But...but if you're not enough..."

Unseen by both, a transparent figure passed through Fumie's room, regarding them silently as her bangs parted slightly, revealing one violet eye. She paused for just a moment, then continued on her way._ Pret-ty Cure..._

* * *

Mari dragged the girls everywhere, cheerfully pointing out various rides she wanted to go on, games she wanted to play, a clown she wanted to stop and watch, food she wanted to eat...all under the pretense of "There might be a Dream Shard there!"

None of the others looked very pleased with her. Kurako had an ever-growing frown and twitchy eye, Kotone looked like she wanted to enjoy herself but had her mind elsewhere, Aoi just looked plain confused, and as for Hisa...Well, if looks could kill, Mari would have her entire back covered in tiny daggers by now.

Kurako covered her face with one hand as an excited Mari led them all towards a bench, still babbling on about how "awesome" this little adventure was. "Phwah!" she exhaled, flopping into the bench and tilting her head back. She put her hands on her knees, swinging her feet as she smiled. "This is such an awesome adventure!"

Adventure? Kurako thought, frowning. A quick glance around at the others told her they were thinking along those lines as well. She cleared her throat discreetly. "Say, uh...Mari? Are you sure you should be doing this?"

"Doing what?" Mari asked, cheerfully oblivious.

Hisa ground her teeth as Kurako awkwardly went on. "Well...this. You know...Leading us around this place...saying we will fight off any mosnters."

"But we will!" Mari insisted, opening her eyes and smiling round the group. "Because we're all super-strong and have good hearts! A Bakuko won't stand a chance against us!"

This 'us' stuff again? Hisa snarled internally. "Mari, you're not-"

"Hey, speaking of Bakuko-what kinda Bakuko d'you think would show up here? maybe a hot-dog one, that'd be cool! We can beat a hot-dog monster easy-"

"Enough!" Hisa snapped, throwing herself from Kurako's shoulder and landing on Mari's chest. She crawled upwards, raising herself up a bit to glare into Mari's now-confused eyes. "We, we, we-that's enough of that! You're not in this group, you're not even in the same league as Pretty Cure! You can't be a legendary warrior, so stop talking like you are! You can't do anything to help Pretty Cure-you being around them is only dragging them down, okay?! And furthermore, you think that dragging them all over here is helping any? You're not taking any of this seriously, you just want to play and ignore the fact that Pretty Cure have a serious issue to deal with-but you don't get it, do you? Why don't you leave them alone and let them do their job?!"

There was a thick, heavy silence. It felt uncomfortable. Hisa tore her gaze away from Mari, grumbling and fully intending to go back to Kurako and leave the redhead to go play on her own. But then she noticed how the three Pretty Cure were looking at her, mouths open, eyes wide. Aoi had covered her mouth, glasses slipping down her nose. "What?" Hisa grumbled, the fire dying a little. She turned back around, and finally registered the look on Mari's face.

The redhead's eyes were shining with unshed tears, mouth twitching as she tried not to cry. Though Hisa couldn't see it, her hands were clenched into trembling fists in her lap. "I...I j-just..." she whimpered. "I didn't m-mean..." She shut her eyes, covering her face with one hand as she threw Hisa off her chest with the other. (Aoi squealed and hid behind Kotone so she wouldn't be the one the snake landed on.) "'m sorry!" Mari sobbed, jumping off the bench and running away.

"Mari!" Kotone shouted. "Mari, come back!"

But Mari had already disappeared into the crowd.

Kurako sighed, frowning down at Hisa. "Now look what you did," she grumbled. "There were nicer ways to say that, you know."

Hisa opened her mouth to retort something back, but then noticed how upset everyone looked. With her, not Mari. She looked around the group again, anger finally dissipating and turning into confusion. "What'd...I do?" she asked.

* * *

**Eyecatch 1:** Fumie stands at an easel, tongue poking out slightly as she carefully dabs some paint onto the canvas. Satisfied, she steps back and spins the easel around to reveal a watercolor of Cure Ink, the PCBE logo where a signature should be.  
**Eyecatch 2:** Kurako, Aoi, Kotone, Mari, Uta, Kaana and Hisa all sit down on the floor, watching Fumie. Fumie stands at a podium and bangs a rubber gavel, calling the club meeting to order. The PCBE logo appears in the corner.

* * *

"Mari!" Kotone shouted, hands cupped around her mouth. "Mari, come back!"

"It's okay, Mari! No one's mad at you!" Aoi offered, shouting in another direction.

The girls were walking through the crowds now. Kotone and Aoi were walking ahead, while Kurako hung back, Hisa riding on her shoulder. She wasn't calling for Mari, instead walking with her arms folded, glaring sideways at Hisa. "You shouldn't have said all that," she grumbled.

Hisa looked affronted, rearing back a little. "I just told her the truth! She needed to hear that-she can't go around acting like she's in the same league as you girls; even Fumie is better than she is, and-"

Stop it." Kurako's voice was cold. She glared down at the snake, trembling slightly. "Mari...Mari wasn't doing anything horrible, okay? yeah, it was a little annoying that we were dragged everywhere and found no Dream Shard, no Bakuko, no nothing. Yes, it's awful the Dream Charm is gone. yes, it was irritating that Mari used 'we' like she was pretty Cure, too. But she doesn't mean any harm. And...and no matter what your feelings on her are, you've no right to make her cry."

"Kurako's right," Kotone added, nodding as she walked back to join them. Having had no luck in finding Mari, she'd gone back and had managed to overhear the last part of Kurako's dialogue. "I mean-it wasn't totally awful though...I kinda liked seeing the amusement park. And Mari doesn't get to hang around us too often these days..."

"That's probably why she said 'we' so much," Aoi offered, coming back herself. Her hands were clasped in front of her as she looked at the ground. "We...Well, it was a bit off-putting, but only because she could get hurt. Pretty Cure is tough business, and Mari doesn't have any powers...I don't think she could take much from a Bakuko. But the fact she wanted to put herself in the group at all just means..."

* * *

Mari sat on the ground, hiding behind a few food carts, her head bowed. She wiped at her tears as she cried quietly, shoulders shaking. "I j-just..." she sobbed, speaking to no one in particular. "I just...I just w-wanted to b-be friends..."

* * *

"I bet it's hard," Aoi murmured. "Your best friend gets a bunch of new friends, but you can't spend much time with them at all. And when they have to fight monsters, you just sit on the sidelines..."

* * *

"I o-only...w-wanna help..." Mari sobbed.

* * *

"Poor Mari..." Kotone muttered, eyes downcast. "I know we should tell her something, but...not what you said, Hisa."

"That's your problem, by the way," Kurako added. "You just keep losing your temper on everyone. You yelled at Fumie before, you don't want us to have any fun-we're just kids, Hisa! We're all trying our best-even Mari! Why can't you just...?" Kurako sighed, not sure how to even finish that. "Just...cut it out. And apologize."

Hisa stared, all the fight leaving her. Slowly, she lowered her head, eyes staring at nothing in particular. She thought back to when this whole mess had started...she had yelled at Fumie a few times, hadn't she? And she'd definitely insulted her...she'd yelled at Fumie, Mari, her little sister... "You're right," she said, quietly. She drew in a shuddering breath. "You're right," she repeated, louder. "I..."

"Kyaaaaah!"

Everyone's heads snapped up at the sound, and they saw the crowd around them running past in terror, dropping ice-creams and hot-dogs, balloons trailing behind them, parents picking up children... "What's going on now?" Kotone snapped.

Aoi frowned, the light catching her glasses and obscuring her eyes. "I bet I know." She looked in the opposite direction of the runners, the others following her gaze.

Sure enough, there was Kemuri, standing atop a ticket-booth Bakuko. The ticket-booth had massively increased in size, as all of the Bakuko did, the same angry eyes and keyhole mark on the center of its front. Giant rolls of tickets were inside of it, snaking out like four long, wavy arms. "Ohohoho!" she laughed dramatically, tossing er head back. "There's sure to be a Dream Shard here!"

"Wait a-" Kurako muttered before stomping her foot and yelling up at Kemuri. Luckily she didn't have to yell too loudly, for most of the people were gone by now. "You mean to say you don't even know if one's here, and you're still attacking?"

Kemuri grinned and shrugged her shoulders, hands coming up. "Hey, lots of people, right~! There's gotta be one floating around somewhere!"

"You know, it's kinda scary how she and Mari seem to have the same logic about this," Kotone muttered. Without further comment, she whipped out her PreCure PC.

"Pretty Cure! Show my future!"  
"Spinning with grace and strength, Cure Twirl!"  
"Adding flavor and zest to life, Cure Spice!"  
"Drumming a new life's rhythm, Cure Beat!"  
"Protecting everyone's dreams, Pretty Cure Bukatsudo Energetic!"

There was a brief silence. Then "You know, it feels kinda weird to do this without Fumie here," Twirl admitted.

"Yeah..." the other two sighed.

"G-Girls, heads up!" Hisa shouted, snapping them out of their brief funk.

Twirl looked up in time to see one of the ticket-line arms zipping towards her. Realizing she still had Hisa on her shoulder, she leaped out of the way, landing on top of a nearby popcorn-stand. She only had enough time to carefully deposit the snake on the roof before the ticket-line changed course and headed for her again. She let out a yelp as it suddenly snaked around her several times, snapping tight and securing her arms to her sides. "G-Girls!" she screamed as she was lifted into the air.

"Twirl!" Spice shouted, running forward. Leaping into the air, she readied her own attack. "Pretty Cure...Flavo-Gyaaah!" Another ticket-arm snapped her up in the same manner as Twirl. She grit her teeth, struggling to free herself, to move her arms and break the tickets, but it was no good. "B-Beat!"

"I got this!" Beat shouted. But just then, even she was snapped up, lifted into the air with the others before she could even move. "Or...or not..." she feebly mumbled, as the others looked at her in dismay.

"Wow, this is...really easy," Kemuri laughed, covering her mouth with the back of one hand. "Oh, man, I shoulda used a ticket-booth Bakuko ages ago! Well," her smile suddenly turned murderous. "No sense wasting any more time talking. With you outta the way..."

The Bakuko's grip on the girls began to tighten, making them cry out in pain.

"Nocturna will be unbeatable! All the dreams in the world will belong to Mora!" Kemuri laughed again. "Bakuko, finish them-"

"Hold it right there!"

Even the Bakuko turned at that, momentarily pausing in its tightening-grip on the girls. Mari stood on the ground a few feet in front of them, her still-tearstained face a grim mask of determination, trench-coat billowing rather dramatically in the breeze. She wiped at her eyes, steeling herself as she glared up at the monster. "Stop right there, monster!" she yelled. "I won't let you hurt Pretty Cure!"

"M-mari!" Hisa shouted from the top of the booth. "Get out of here! You're not-you don't have powers! Run away!"

"Eh, if she wants to get pummeled so badly, I say let her..." Kemuri muttered, eye twitching a bit.

"I won't run!" Mari continued. "I'll protect my friends..." In one swift movement, she undid the heart clasp on her front and flung her trench-coat high into the air, revealing what she wore underneath for the first time that day. Hisa suppressed a groan; Mari was wearing a modified version of her cheerleader outfit, a pink felt heart and white lam ribbon sewn to the chest, and bright pink thigh-high socks. Another lam ribbon was sewn to the back of her skirt, and a few more dotted the edge of her shirt-bottom. From nowhere, she produced a headband with a bright pink ribbon on it, secured it in her hair. "As Cure Cheer, I'll protect Pretty Cure!" she announced dramatically, light reflecting off of her ribbons.

Kemuri just stared blankly. "You...have got to be kidding me," she muttered.

"Mari, we appreciate the sentiment!" Beat called down. "But you're not-"

"Oh, forget this!" Kemuri shook her head. "Why'm I even bothering to- Bakuko, get her!"

"Bakuuuu!" The creature lashed out with another ticket-line arm, and Mari evaded with a side-roll.

"You won't best me so easily!" she boasted, throwing herself from a hand-stand into the balloon popping game. Grabbing several darts in one hand, she flung them at the arm snaking towards her. The Bakuko made a loud whining sound as it drew the arm back, pierced with several sharp darts.

Kemuri blinked in shock. "Wh-what the-?!"

Mari wasn't finished yet. She ran from the balloon game to the water-gun game, grabbing one of the water-guns and turning it away it its target. She aimed it at the Bakuko-or rather, one of the arms holding a Cure helpless. "Pretty Cure Cheer Water Gun!" she shouted, squeezing the trigger. A powerful jet of water shot out at the ticket-arm, soaking the paper holding Twirl in seconds. Twirl froze for a moment-then a look of realization dawned on her face.

Grinning triumphantly, she grit her teeth and struggled to move her arms outward. With a loud cry of victory, she quickly managed to rip her arms through the soaked, weakened, paper. "Ha! Not so strong now, are you?" she taunted.

"B-Baku-?!" the Bakuko cringed.

"My thoughts exactly..." Kemuri whimpered. "Uhm...see ya!" she cried, disappearing into the dark vortex before she could get into anymore trouble.

The Bakuko looked up, as if silently pleading with her not to go as Mari shot water at its remaining arms, freeing the other two Cures as she had Twirl. It looked back down at Pretty Cure, the look in its eyes only being able to be summed up as Oh. Crap.

"Finish it off, Pretty Cure!" Mari shouted, standing behind her improvised-weapon and pointing at the Bakuko.

Twirl flashed her a cocky grin over her shoulder before turning her attention back to the Bakuko, leaping skyward. "Alright! Pretty Cure Grace Hurricane!"

The attack hit the Bakuko directly on the keyhole mark. "B-bakuko! Baku..." it murmured, sounding sleepy before it slumped over, the keyhole vanishing. In a flash of light, the Bakuko had returned to being a ticket-booth once more.

Mari shyly approached the girls, holding Hisa in her arms. The snake, having crawled down when things started to look up for Pretty Cure, glanced upward at Mari nervously. But Mari wasn't focused on her. "U-uhm...h-hey guys, I'm sorry for-Wah!" Mari yelped as the girls suddenly surrounded her, pulling her into a group-hug!

"Oh, Mari, that was so awesome!"

"You saved us! Thanks so much!"

"You're amazing, Mari!"

Mari could only laugh, blushing faintly.

* * *

A few hours later, at sunset, the patrons were slowly enjoying the carnival again, though fewer of them were around than before. Mari walked with the girls around the food-booth section, happily munching some cotton candy. Hisa rode alone on her shoulder, looking a bit uncomfortable.

"Say...Mari?" she ventured at last.

"Mari!" Mari beamed, turning to look at her. "Okay, no, really, yeah?"

"I just...I want to say...I mean, I guess I shouldn't be so hard on people...especially you...I m-mean, you rescued Pretty Cure without any powers of your own, and I never thought...I mean to say I-"

Mari held up a hand, still grinning. "Apology accepted!" she chirped, much to Hisa's relief. "And uhm...I guess I should say sorry, too...But I really wanted to hang out with you guys. I mean, more often than I get to, and for stuff other than fighting. Because it's no fun to do that all the time, and...Well, I'm sorry for not putting your business first," she finally said, looking down at her feet.

Unseen by all, Uta wandered past them, but suddenly caught sight of the group. Momentarily panicking, she glanced around wildly before grabbing the wrist of the orange-haired boy with her and dragging him back in the direction she'd come from.

No one noticed.

"It's okay, Mari...and actually, the Dream Charm is still missing pieces...it won't do Mora any good as it is now, and I'm sure we can find more shards before they can, and get it back..." Hisa admitted. Although it sounded very forced, like she didn't really believe that.

"You sure?" Mari asked, doubt clouding her eyes.

"...p-pretty sure?"

Mari suddenly beamed. "Great!" she cheered. She ripped a chunk of cotton candy off, shoving it into Hisa's mouth before the snake could say anything. "Cotton candy to celebrate our new friendship!"

Kurako chuckled, sneaking forward and helping herself. "And a little to celebrate your being an Honorary Cure?"

"Wow, you mean that?!"

"K-Kurako, what are you saying?"

"To Mari!" Aoi raised a shred of pink fluff high. "Our honorary teammate!"

"Hoorah!" the others chorused, tearing pieces of cotton candy and mimicking Aoi.

Hisa looked around nervously. "Girls, you don't-it's too soon for that kind of thing!" She was ignored.

* * *

**ED: "Lead Me There" - YUME featuring Mari**

* * *

**ON THE NEXT EPISODE:**  
**Fumie:** "Oh my God, oh my God! The ghost has shown up!  
**Kotone:** "I thought it was just a school legend!"  
**Fumie: **"Waaagh, she wants to eat meeee!"  
**Aoi:** "Nonsense, girls...ghosts are only here because of unfinished business. So the right thing to do is..."  
**Kurako:** "Next time on Pretty Cure Bukatsudo Energetic: Haunted School! Free the Lonely Ghost! Don't be late for next meeting!"


	11. Chapter 11

"Check it out, Nocturna!" Kemuri cried cheerfully, skipping up to the older girl's chair. Despite the happy tone, however, she was breathing a bit heavily, one hand clutching at her chest in pain. With her other hand, she reached deep into her skirts and produced the Dream Charm, held it up to Nocturna. "We got it! Well, only a little bit of it, but we can totally get more shards! That's a big step already taken!"

Nocturna managed a tired smile, lifting her arm. The gelatinous substance around her body retreated from her arm and moved through the rest of her body, allowing her to move more freely. She reached out, moving for the Dream Charm in near-reverence.

But her fingertips had barely touched the diamond-like charm when she hissed, drawing her hand back. Her teeth grit, her eyes closed, and she pushed herself as far back against her chair as physically possible.

"N-Nocturna?" Kemuri ventured, smile slipping off her face. Whoa, that wasn't how this was supposed to go down.

"G-Get it away from me," Nocturna hissed.

"But...but you said it was going to help you, right? I don't get why-"

Nocturna lifted her arm and slapped the charm out of Kemuri's grasp. The pig-tailed girl shrieked and pulled her hands to her chest as the charm clattered to the floor a few feet away.

_**"I said get it away from me!"**_ Nocturna shrieked.

* * *

**OP: "Purikyua Club" - Bukatsudo Four**

* * *

Fumie yawned as she dragged herself out of bed. It was very early morning; the sun hadn't risen yet. The light from the moon and streetlights outside offered a little light for the blonde to see without turning the lamp on.

She yawned, shuffling past Kaana and Hisa, curled up on the top of her nightstand. Rubbing at an eye, she made her way to the bathroom-

-and suddenly stopped, eyes wide.

For just a second, a glowing girl in a white dress was seen in the corner of her room. But upon noticing Fumie's staring, she made an odd squeaking noise, turned around...and passed through the wall.

Fumie stood stock-still, staring at that spot a few more moments. Then, slowly, her eyes grew wider and teary, her head shaking a little.

**"KYAAAAAAAH!"**

* * *

**TODAY'S EPISODE: Haunted School! Free the Lonely Ghost!**

* * *

"I'm totally serious, you guys!" Fumie shrieked, fists to her chest. She stood in the middle of the room she and Mari shared, the rest of Pretty Cure standing around her in a semi-circle. All of them were still wearing their pajamas, as it was the weekend and they'd been intending on sleeping in, but Fumie had ruined that. "She was right there in that corner! A-And she looked right at me and walked through the wall! She looked right at me!" Fumie repeated, tears welling up in her eyes again.

Kotone rubbed at one eye, tired irritation plain on her face. "And it was how early that you saw this?" she grumbled. "If it was so early, you would have woken us up right away...You sure you weren't dreamin'?"

"I wasn't dreaming!" Fumie insisted. "And...and I didn't want to leave my room til it was brighter out, because what if the ghost was right outside?" She shuddered, remembering how she'd spent the remainder of the night huddled up under her blanket, a weeping mess, flashlight in hand. "Sh-She might've killed me! Or ripped my face off and used it as a mask! O-Or maybe she'd decide she wanted to play with me and be my friend forever and ever, so then she would turn me into a ghost like her and-"

Aoi touched Fumie's shoulder to calm her down.

_"Kyaaaaa!"_

"Fumie," Aoi said sternly, adjusting her glasses. "Calm down...You know the ghost is only a story to scare the underclassmen, right? It's not real."

"Then ho - how come people t - talk about it? How come people t - talk about s - s - seeing it?"

"Because it's just meant to scare people!" Kurako snapped, arms folded, shaking her head. "Honestly...it's no different than stories of youkai."

"But youkai do exist," Kaana finally piped up from her place on Fumie's head.

"They do not."

"Kurako, you're one of four transforming heroines who fight monsters made of inanimate objects," Hisa deadpanned. "I think it's easy to believe youkai exist."

"That's totally different!"

Aoi suddenly stuck two fingers in her mouth, shut her eyes tight, and whistled sharply. The rest of the group yelped and covered their ears before looking over at her. The glasses-girl sighed, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose. "Alright, alright. Fumie, if it will make you feel better, we'll stay with you overnight tonight, and if we see the ghost, we'll do something."

"And if we don't see anything," Kotone added, hands on her hips. "Then it was all just a dream and you shouldn't have woken us up so early."

Fumie wasn't convinced. She held her fists under her chin and sniffled again. "B-B-But..."

"Fumie, just give it a try," Hisa muttered. She was still rather angry about being woken up by Fumie's scream hours ago.

* * *

"There, now isn't this nice?" Aoi said cheerfully. She sat with the others on Fumie's bunk, her legs tucked beneath her and her hands folded neatly on her lap. In the middle of the blanket sat a few flashlights, arranged together in a teepee shape. "It's just like camping! I even brought marshmallows and chocolate, see?" she added, producing the bags from her backpack.

Kotone was less enthusiastic, a look of disappointment on her face as she poked one of the flashlights. "It's nothing like camping," she sighed. "There're no stars out."

"If you wanted stars, I would've gotten some sticky-stars and put them on the ceiling," Fumie offered.

"Not the same."

Kurako reached over to take some marshmallows, popping one into her mouth. "Just shush up and let's enjoy this. If there's no ghost, we can at least spend time together."

For several hours, they did just that. They kept their voices down so any wandering teachers wouldn't overhear their slumber party, shared the food Aoi brought, at one point Kurako and Kotone got into a mock pillow-fight over the last chocolate (which was promptly eaten by Kaana instead), and nearly forgot why they were there in the first place.

It wasn't til four in the morning, when they were finally too tired to stay awake any longer, that something actually happened.

* * *

Kaana and Hisa lay curled up on top of the nightstand, Pretty Cure sprawled out on top of Fumie's bedcovers. As they all slept, blissfully ignorant, a faint light appeared on the wall opposite the bunk beds. Slowly, a figure emerged, regarding the sleepers with timid curiosity, and finally stepped forward. They slowly approached the bed, their eerie light illuminating Kurako's features. The dark-haired girl grumbled something in her sleep, squinting from the light.

"Mmf, Fumie, turn th' lights off..." she mumbled, blearily opening her eyes. Then her eyes snapped open all the way; Kurako fully awake.

And she stared directly into the pale lilac eyes of the ghost.

"Hyaaaaaah!" Kurako shrieked, bolting upright and speedily crab-walking towards the wall. At the same time, the ghost flinched back, fists up to her chin. The scream woke up everyone else in the room, of course.

"Kurako, what's the mat-" Aoi started, then saw the ghost. "Kyaaa!"

"I told you it was real!" Fumie shrieked, pointing and hiding under her blanket. "It's gonna take my face off!" She covered her face in the mattress.

"Guys..."

"Fumie, let me under there!" Kurako cried, tugging on the blankets. "She was looking at me, she obviously wants to steal my face!"

"You guys!" Kotone shouted, looking into the ghost's eyes. "I don't think it wants to do anything. Check it out."

Everyone looked over at it-no, her, then. The ghost-girl was standing against the opposite wall, head ducked so her bangs obscured her eyes, fists drawn up to her chest. She stood pigeon-toed, trembling faintly as if she were more frightened of them than they of her. Everyone fell silent, and then heard the faint noises she was making. "Hu-hyuuu..._hyuuu..."_

Crying. She was crying.

Kaana and Hisa slowly uncoiled themselves, glanced at each other and then at Pretty Cure. All the girls sat with rather lost-looking expressions on their faces, looking at one another and shrugging. Aoi was the first to move, carefully getting out of bed and making her way across the room. She stopped a few steps before the ghost, bending a little to try and see her face. "Hey...hey, it's alright...don't cry, Miss Ghost."

The ghost sniffled, lifting her head just a little. Her bangs parted slightly, revealing one of her eyes. She looked at the group over Aoi's shoulder, then back at Aoi herself. "Y-You're n-n-not mad at me?"

Aoi smiled reassuringly. "No, no! Who would be mad at a poor little thing like you? Come on, don't be shy, come on..."

The ghost slowly lowered her hands, looking back at the wall for a moment as if she wanted to run through it, but took a few steps forward. Aoi touched her shoulder as best she could, trying to usher her towards the bunk.

"There we are. Don't be scared...I bet you want something, don't you? That's why ghosts are around in the first place, yes?"

Kurako's eye twitched slightly. Only Aoi would talk to a ghost like that.

* * *

Finally, the ghost sat on the bunk, kneeling with her hands in her lap, head bowed. Fumie was amazed she could actually sit; she was so sure the girl would pass right through the bed. "U-uhm..." the ghost murmured, reaching up to toy with a few strands of her constantly-moving hair. "M-my name's...A-Ayumu...Y-you're Pretty Cure." It clearly wasn't a question.

Kotone started. "How'd you know that?!" she demanded.

Ayumu flinched. "I...I walk all over th-the school...I s-see things."

"Well, that makes sense," Hisa admitted. Kaana nodded in agreement.

"B-but..." Ayumu began again. "I w-was wondering...w-well, when I first saw you fight..." Ayumu remembered that day, how she'd stood around the corner of the building, watching Pretty Cure fighting the bento Bakuko. How her non-existent heart had skipped a beat, and how there'd been this strange feeling of connecting. "I j-just knew...you'd be the ones t-to help me..."

* * *

**Eyecatch 1:** Fumie stands at an easel, tongue poking out slightly as she carefully dabs some paint onto the canvas. Satisfied, she steps back and spins the easel around to reveal a watercolor of Cure Ink, the PCBE logo where a signature should be.  
**Eyecatch 2:** Kurako, Aoi, Kotone, Mari, Uta, Kaana and Hisa all sit down on the floor, watching Fumie. Fumie stands at a podium and bangs a rubber gavel, calling the club meeting to order. The PCBE logo appears in the corner.

* * *

"Alright! Operation send Ayumu to Heaven is a go!" Fumie declared, standing before Sparkling Fountain with her fist in the air. Behind her, the water splashed, making her look a bit dynamic. She grinned, baring her teeth. "Ayumu will go to Heaven or I'm a bad Pretty Cure!"

Hisa opted not to say the obvious retort. Besides, Fumie had improved quite a bit already.

_"Help you?" Fumie had echoed, blinking. She held her hand to her chin, thinking hard. Hmmm, when a ghost needed help, it was usually because... "Ah, you want to go to heaven!" she suddenly declared, smacking her fist into an open palm._

_Ayumu shook her head timidly. "Er-actually..."_

_"Alright! Don't you worry, Ayumu! We'll send you along!"_

_"E-Eh?"_

"Poor Ayumu was so happy she couldn't speak," Fumie smiled, hopping down from the fountain. "Okay, we better hurry though! Who knows how long she's been wandering around the world of the living!"

"Wait a minute, Fumie!" Kurako chimed in, chasing after her as she ran into the crowded square. "We don't know the first thing about that!"

Kotone sighed, sticking her hands in her pockets as she and Aoi began walking after them. "She's right though. We really don't have a clue - I mean, I think I know how to get rid of a ghost; salt and candles and stuff, but helping one move on?"

Aoi smiled, adjusting her glasses so the light shone off them. "Don't worry about that, Kotone. I know just the place we can get answers!"

* * *

"A-And then she _yelled_ at me! At _me!_ Adorable, wonderful _me!_" Kemuri whined, kicking her feet and pounding the small table with her fists. She and Fureyaa sat outside a small ice-cream shop, some cheap sundaes before them. Fureyaa was nearly done with his, but Kemuri had been too busy whining to even start hers. She sniffled dramatically, poking at the sundae dish. "I just wanted to help Nocturna and make her proud of me, but then she had to get all mean!"

Fureyaa stuck the spoon in his mouth again, taking a moment to savor the chocolate sauce before he went on. "Maybe she was just tired? She just woke up, after all."

Kemuri brightened up suddenly. "Hey, yeah! You're right-she sleeps a lot and had just woken up! I bet she was just cranky! Yup, that's totally it!" She beamed as she finally started to dig into her half-melted sundae. "There'll be plenty more times to make her proud anyway. We still got the Dream Charm, and I bet there's another Shard hanging around somewhere-"

Fureyaa didn't hear any of what came after that. He'd suddenly spotted Pretty Cure, Aoi in the lead, walking off towards a small, shady-looking store. And behind them trailed a girl, so pale she appeared to be glowing, and almost-unnoticeable. Fureyaa choked and dropped his spoon. "Pretty-!" He stood up, pushing his sundae at Kemuri. "Be right back, Kemuri!" he called as he ran into the crowd.

"Reeeh? Fureyaa, wait for meee!" Kemuri cried as she chased after him.

Shortly afterwards, the waitress came out. "Can I help you with anythi-Huh?" She stood there a few more moments, blinking in surprise. "They didn't want to finish their ice-creams?"

* * *

The bell attached to the door jingled as Pretty Cure slowly stepped inside. The shop, cluttered and cramped with old, creaking shelves, knick-knacks piled high everywhere you looked, and a few cobwebs here and there, was dimly-lit and dusty. Kurako coughed into her fist.

"Aoi, are you sure we'll find something here?" Kotone asked, walking further inside and glancing around.

Before Aoi could answer, a deep, throaty voice spoke up. "Ohoho, you'll find everything you need here!"

Everyone jumped at the voice, turning to look in the direction it had come from. Standing behind the counter, almost unnoticeable behind the dusty-looking books and a globe on the countertop, was the shopkeeper. Her smiled at the girls, pushing his reading glasses up his nose and calling attention to the dark lines under his eyes. "So," he said, not opening his eyes once. "What are you all here for?"

"U-uhm...d-do you have anything on-?" Kotone began.

"It's ghosts, isn't it?" the man asked.

"H-How'd you know?" Fumie gasped, eyes wider than they'd ever been.

The man laughed, running his fingers through his green, gray-streaked hair. "I have my ways, ohoho~ I think this book is what you need!" He reached into a seemingly-random pile, produced a book from the middle without even looking at the title, and handed it over. Kurako took it hesitantly, making a face when she saw the dust on the cover. "Well, there you are. You're Atama students, aren't you? Normally this book would cost you thirty dollars, but for an Atama group, I'll halve that for you." He smiled again, holding out a hand palm-up.

The girls all glanced at each other as they reached into their pockets to chip in on the payment.

* * *

"How'd he even know we were Atama students?" Kurako asked later, as they all sat in the park. Luckily for them, no one wanted to go to the park today, just shop, so they were alone. No one would have to see them doing something so odd.

"I dunno - maybe he's a janitor?" Fumie ventured.

"A janitor who's also a shop-keeper? Shouldn't one job be enough?"

"Perhaps it's simply a hobby," Aoi said as she opened the book.

Ayumu stood in front of the group, wringing her hands. "Y-You d-d-don't have to d-do this..." she began quietly. "I-I m-mean I think-"

Fumie smiled, giving her the thumbs-up sign. "Nope, nope, nope! Think nothing of it, Ayumu! You'll be going towards the light in no time!"

"But I don't need-"

"Okay, let's get this started!"

For the next ten minutes, they at least tried. They threw salt at her; Ayumu squeaked and covered her face. Aoi tried jangling a bell over her head; Ayumu just looked at it blankly. Near the end of it, Fumie finally sat on Kotone's shoulders and tried to lift Ayumu upwards, but all that happened then was that the two humans collapsed in a heap and Ayumu gently floated back downwards.

Aoi flipped through the pages nervously. "Uhm-we could tr-no, that won't do, we tried something similar. Or maybe-no, not that, that's...or how about-hnnn, no..."

Ayumu wrung her hands, staring at her bare feet. "U-uhm...P-Pretty Cure, I appreciate the offers v-v-very much, a-and the s-sent-sentiment...but I'm not h-here for that." She lifted her head a little, the corners of her mouth turned down ever-so-slightly. "U-Uhm...I think...I just need to f-find something."

"You mean..." Fumie frowned. "You need to find something...and then you'll move on?"

"I-If...if that's what us-usually happens..." Ayumu mumbled, twisting her hands around each other again. "I d-don't know what'll happen...b-but I don't even know wh-what to f-f-find..."

There were a few moments of silence at that. She was supposed to find something, but if she didn't even know what that was, then how were they even going to help? How to even begin? Fumie sighed, finally standing up and approaching the ghost girl, resting her hands on her shoulders. "Hey, Ayumu," she said, cheerful once more. "Don't worry about it!"

"H-huh?" Ayumu looked up again.

Fumie just smiled, tilting her head a bit. "Don't worry about it. If you focus too much on what you can't remember, then you'll never remember. It's just like me and my art...sometimes I can't find my muse, but if I keep focusing on finding it, I won't find it fast enough. When you open your ind up, focus on other things for a while and stop worrying...then you'll remember." She grinned with her teeth showing, giving Ayumu the thumbs-up. "And then you come straight to us and we'll help you find it!"

Behind her, Pretty Cure nodded, starting to smile a bit themselves.

Ayumu stared for a few moments, her hair still moving and shifting, bangs parting just a little more to expose her other eye. After a moment she let out a quick, short laugh, shutting her eyes and ducking her head. "O-Okay!" she squeaked, smiling a tiny bit. Reaching up with a pale, glowing hand to brush away some tears.

"Hey, hey, Ayumu, are you crying?"

"N-No!"

"You sure? Because I didn't think ghosts could cry, so-"

"I'm not crying!"

* * *

In the forest surrounding the park, Kemuri fell to her knees, clutching her chest in pain. The Dream-Eating Crane crumpled in her fist, useless now. She breathed heavily, lifting her head up. "Wh-what is this...?" she growled.

Beside her, Fureyaa tentatively put a hand on his own chest, frowning lightly. It was strange; Kemuri was reacting as if a Dream Shard was around but...

...he felt nothing. He should be in pain like her, he should be in pain like he was when he first met Cure Ink. So why wasn't he?

He wasn't even sure if there was a Dream Shard around til he glanced around and spotted a faint glowing light under the bushes. And then saw it start to rise. With a yelp, he lunged at it, grabbing it in his fist and tugging it towards his chest. "Phew," he sighed before looking up.

Pretty Cure was leaving the park-

-and that ghost girl was trailing after them, wiping her eyes.

And the Dream Shard was still tugging in his hand. He let go of it, and saw it begin to float towards her. Towards the ghost. He snatched it up again, giving Ayumu's retreating form a strange look as he went back to Kemuri.

* * *

**ED: "Lead Me There" - YUME featuring Mari**

* * *

**Fumie:** "Wow, lucky us! We didn't have to battle today!"  
**Kurako:** "We won't always be so lucky...Ah, excuse me a moment."  
**Fumie:** "Eh? Where's Kurako going?"  
**Kotone:** "She's not on the swim team, so why is she...? Phwah! It's the masked guy again!"  
**Aoi:** "Next time on Pretty Cure Bukatsudo Energetic: No Running, No Drowning! I Want the Gold! Don't be late for next meeting!"


	12. Chapter 12

Kurako sighed, slinging her towel over her shoulder as she walked down the hallway. Early morning again. Time for another early-bird practice. She'd have to train long and hard if she ever wanted to go on to the Olympics, after all. Besides, it was nicer to practice when no one else was awake to run in and interrupt, saying they had to use the balance beam, disrupting her concentration...

As she walked down the hallway towards the gym, she had to pass by the doors to the pool. She suddenly stopped as she heard splashing sounds inside._ Someone inside? But usually I'm the only one up at this hour...A Bakuko!?_

Mouth set in a firm, thin line, hand on her PreCure PC, Kurako slowly opened the door and poked her head inside. She suddenly relaxed, eyes widening slightly as she saw someone swimming laps in the pool.

_Th-They're fast!_ she thought, awed as she walked inside, dropping her towel on the textured floor. Whoever it was in there was going at such a speed she'd only seen on TV - did the Swimming Club seriously go that fast? She'd never watched a match.

The swimmer suddenly stopped, head breaking the water as her hands grabbed at the ladder. Kurako jumped back as the swimmer tilted her head back and gasped loudly, hoisting herself up. The gymnast kept backing up as the swimmer climbed out of the pool, intending to go to her own towel and energy drink-only to stop when she noticed Kurako right in front of her.

The swimmer, about a foot taller than Kurako herself was, paused for a moment, then lifted her goggles and smiled. "Good morning to you!"

* * *

**OP: "Purikyua Club" - Bukatsudo Four**

* * *

"Alright, everyone, hands out!" Aoi announced, holding out the large boxy-package wrapped in handkerchief.

Fumie, Mari, Kurako, Kotone, and Uta all held their hands out expectantly.

Aoi smiled, balancing the stack of bentos on one hand as she undid the cloth-tie with the other. The cloth fell down to reveal the stacked boxes, and Aoi passed them out to their respective owners. "Here we go-Fumie, Kotone, Uta, Mari, Kurako. I made your favorites today; please give the boxes back when you're done."

"Phwaaah, you're amazing, Aoi~" Mari squealed as she held her lunch to her chest. "Fumie-tan, when we get married, can Aoi move in with us as our personal chef?"

"W-W-Wah, married?!"

"Well, sure!" Mari was saying as the group walked off, the others laughing at Fumie's wide-eyed look of shock. "We're bestest friends forever, right? And I'm not gonna love anyone but Fumie-tan, so we might as well marry when we graduate~"

"Y-you're really serious, aren't you?"

Aoi stopped, turning around when she noticed Kurako staring at her unopened lunch. "Hm? Kurako, what's up?" she asked. "Does the lunch feel too light? I made sure to pack in lots of calories to fill you up, but..."

Kurako shook her head. "N-No, it's just..." She suddenly smiled, lifting her head and tilting it slightly to one side. "Never mind! Thanks for the meal!" she blurted out as she rushed past.

"You're welcome?" Aoi said, blinking a few times.

* * *

**TODAY'S EPISODE: No Running, No Drowning! I Want The Gold!**

* * *

_**"Auuuugh!"**_ Kemuri shrieked, throwing herself to the floor dramatically. "We have got to find a better place to put that thing!" She pointed almost-accusingly at Chuusha, who was idly watching the Dream Charm spin on its chain, dangling from her hand. "I know you don't feel pain, but that doesn't mean you get to torture the rest of us!"

Chuusha sent her a withering look before smirking and holding her hand out, moving the Charm closer to Kemuri.

Kemuri cried out again, rolling on the floor a few times, grip on her chest tightening.

"Chuusha, stop that," Gachan murmured, stepping out of Nocturna's room. The white-haired woman gave him a less-enthusiastic look, but did as she was told and pocketed the Dream Charm. Almost immediately, Kemuri gasped in relief and rose to her knees. "I know it hurts," Gachan went on. "But this is for the greater good. Sometimes one must endure pain to make their dream come true."

"You sound like a fortune cookie," Chuusha grumbled, tossing her hair.

"Nuh-uh, he sounds like Doctor Shool," Kemuri retorted, referring to a character in her new favorite soap. "He said something similar last week, actually! When he was helping Hana regain control of her legs and-"

"Don't care," Chuusha cut her off. She sighed, glancing at an imaginary-watch and striding towards the door to Nocturna's room. "Ah, it's about time to check her vitals anyway."

"Make sure to keep the Dream Charm away from her!" Kemuri called after her.

Hidden in the shadows, Fureyaa stood watching the whole exchange. He glanced down at his hand resting on his chest, fingers spread out. He still hadn't felt any pain...But he had no idea if he should be worried or not.

* * *

Kurako eyed the clock nervously, biting at her lower lip. Every movement of the second-hand, every faint tk it made rang in her ears. It was almost lunch-time...and then...

_Bing-bong, bing-bong..._

"Lunch time!" Kurako shouted, bolting into a standing position. Lightning-speed, she grabbed her bento and bolted out of the room, running down the hall so fast the other students swore she left a trail of smoke behind.

"Eh? Why's Kaneyama going so fast? She's not buying her lunch today, is she?"

"Maybe she wants to eat on the roof today?"

"Eh, she's strange..."

* * *

Kurako slowed down as she reached the doors to the pool, finally stopping just outside. She tried to catch her breath, holding her bento to her chest as she nervously eyed the sign above the doors. _Is it really okay? is it okay if I...?_ She shut her eyes tight, shook her head, and pushed the doors open.

Kenda sat on one of the benches along the wall, swinging her feet. She looked up as Kurako entered, eyes lighting up. "Ah, good day, Miss Kaneyama!"

"H-Hi, Kenda," Kurako smiled weakly. She didn't bother telling Kenda to call her by her first name - if Kenda wanted to call her by her surname, that was fine too! As long as she was talking to her, that was fine. "I - I brought my lunch to share!" she blurted out, holding the bento at arm's length towards the swimmer. "B-Because...because uhm...that's what you do, right? You share lunch?"

The other girl blinked, face blank, then smiled, laughing behind a loose fist. "Oh, you did not have to bring lunch to share with me! I bring my own lunch every day. A - Ah, but if you would like to share, that's good too!" she hastily added as Kurako's face fell.

Kurako smiled a little more, sitting on the bench beside Kenda and opening the box. "My roommate made it - she's in the cooking club, too, so it's really good. if you like, I'll ask her to..."

* * *

"...make you a bigger lunch?" Aoi asked.

"Ehhhh?" the others cried out once.

Kurako blushed faintly. "Y-Yeah. I - I need more calories if I wanna bulk up!"

"Bulk up?" Kotone asked, blinking.

"Why d'ya need to bulk up?" Kaana poked her head from Fumie's bag. "You look plenty strong to me!"

"I...I just do, okay?" Kurako swiftly looked off to the side, blushing even harder. "If I'm ever to go the Olympics, I need to train harder, eat more! So if it's not too much trouble, Aoi...?" She shifted her gaze back to the glasses-girl, looking at her nervously from beneath her lashes. "Then d'you think you could...?"

Aoi still didn't look very convinced, but still, she nodded and pushed her glasses up. "Yeah, I guess so...is there anything in particular you'd like?"

"Oh, yeah, she really liked the takoyaki, so could you make a lot of that?" Kurako smiled.

There was a short pause as everyone processed what she'd just said. Kurako slowly realized it herself, and let out a loud squawk, face turning tomato-red in an instant.

"She?" Kotone asked, raising an eyebrow as a devious look appeared on her face. "Kurako, did you-?"

"Nonononono!" Kurako yelped, shaking her head rapidly. "No, I mean - _I_ really liked the takoyaki! Me! Only me, no one else! ThanksAoiyou'rewonderfulbye!" she blurted out again before grabbing her schoolbags and fleeing the classroom, leaving the rest of Pretty Cure to stare after her in bewilderment.

"That was...odd," Hisa finally murmured, poking her head out of Fumie's bag next to her sister.

Kotone just smiled faintly, eyebrows lowering. _Hmmmm..._

* * *

That night, in the pool area, Ayumu slowly walked through the wall and kept on going, walking over the water until she stood in the center of the pool. Looking around for a moment, she frowned lightly. "That's...odd," she murmured. "I could have sworn I heard someone..."

Realizing that no one was there after all, she kept walking til she passed through the opposite wall, and the glow she'd cast that illuminated the building vanished. But almost immediately afterwards, another faint glow appeared, though it was concentrated in one area; a small sphere of light hovered in place under the bench, before fading and dropping a Dream Shard.

* * *

"Kenda!" Kurako shouted as she rushed up to the other girl.

It was another day, another lunch hour, and Kurako had yet again bolted from the classroom to eat with her new friend._ Friend..._ It was almost strange to think of someone like that. She slowed to a walk, a faint blush appearing on her smiling face as Kenda looked up at her and waved.

"Miss Kaneyama!" she called out. "Does today's lunch have the takoyaki? I really enjoyed it during yesterday's lunch."

"Yep!" Kurako smiled. "I had Aoi make more than last time, so you can have as much as you'd like!" She plopped down on the bench beside Kenda, opening the box. "Ta-da~"

"Uwaaaah~!" Kenda gasped, clapping her hands together, eyes lighting up. "It all looks very good indeed! Thank you very much, Miss Kaneyama!"

"Thanks, I'll pass that along to Ao-uhhh, my roommate!" Kurako smiled back, taking out the plastic sporks. "C'mon, let's eat now!"

* * *

"Okay, so is everyone here?" Fumie asked, holding her bento in one hand and glancing around the group sitting around the desks. "Kotone, Aoi, me, Kaana and Hisa, Uta..."

"Isn't Mari supposed to eat with us?" Uta asked, raising her hand as if she were still in class.

Fumie shook her head, laughing a little at Uta's action. "No, not today. Apparently one of the cheerleaders had a bit of a crisis today, so Mari's gotta take care of her right now."

"Oh yeah, Mari has to do a lot of stuff like that, doesn't she?" Kotone added, a hand on her chin. "If she doesn't have to go to practice, she has to talk to the other cheerleaders...and in a few weeks there's her cheering-camp..."

Kaana smiled up at the group, looking rather proud. Doing a little wiggle of excitement, she cried "Mari's the captain! She's a leader just like Fumie, so she's gotta do a bunch of important stuff!"

"Mari's the captain?" Hisa muttered, sending a sideways look at Fumie. She could have said something about two bad leaders rooming together, but remembered her promise at the carnival and swallowed it down. "But wait a minute," she realized, expression softening. "Where's Kurako? She's not practicing, is she? A gymnast should know better than to skip meals."

"And it's really not like her..." Aoi murmured before standing and gathering up the lunches, much to Fumie's dismay. "Come on, everyone, let's go find her."

* * *

Kenda exhaled loudly and leaned back, one hand patting her stomach. "The lunch was delicious, Miss Kaneyama!" she said, sending Kurako another smile. "Thank you very much."

"We really put it away, huh?" Kurako laughed, looking into the empty box. She shouldn't have been surprised, really...When one got two big eaters together...

"Miss Kaneyama," Kenda began, startling Kurako a little. "Please do not take this the wrong way, but may I ask if you have any other-"

At that moment, the doors burst open, and the rest of Pretty Cure plus Uta fell in. "Hah!" Fumie cried, face brightening as her gaze landed on the two. "I knew she'd be somewhere on this floor!"

"And it only took you four tries and disrupting one basketball practice," Kotone laughed, lightly noogie-ing the blonde. "Hey, Kurako, why weren't you eating with us today? We missed you!"

Kenda stared for a few moments before smiling faintly, pointing at the girls as she turned to look at Kurako. "Oh, do you know these girls, Kurako?"

Kurako just stared, horrified.

* * *

**Eyecatch 1:** Fumie stands at an easel, tongue poking out slightly as she carefully dabs some paint onto the canvas. Satisfied, she steps back and spins the easel around to reveal a watercolor of Cure Ink, the PCBE logo where a signature should be.  
**Eyecatch 2:** Kurako, Aoi, Kotone, Mari, Uta, Kaana and Hisa all sit down on the floor, watching Fumie. Fumie stands at a podium and bangs a rubber gavel, calling the club meeting to order. The PCBE logo appears in the corner.

* * *

_The swimmer paused for a few moments, then bowed-almost as an afterthought. "It's nice to meet you, miss," she said, an unidentifiable accent lacing her words. "Are you interested in the Swimming Club?"_

_"N-No," Kurako mumbled, shaking her head. "I'm with the Gymnastics Club already."_

_"Ohhhh, I see then. Then, may I ask what you're doing here, if you're not a swimmer?" the girl asked with a tilt of her head and confused but pleasant smile._

_Kurako stood a bit straighter, cheeks flushing pink. "I-I just-I saw you swimming," she blurted out. "And-well, I didn't mean to stare or anything but...w-well, you're amazing!"_

_The other girl laughed. "Well, I'm very glad you think so," she said. "But I still have yet a ways to go before I'm good enough-" She suddenly stopped, flushing a bit herself._

_"Good enough?"_

_"Good enough...for the Olympics," the other girl muttered, smiling awkwardly and looking down at her feet. She adjusted her goggles, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. "I know it sounds rather silly, but-"_

_"N-No way!" Kurako cried. "I-I wanna be in the Olympics too!" she added, smiling brightly._

_The other girl finally looked back at her, her own smile looking much more relaxed. "No joke?" she said, then bowed again. "I'm Kenda Beck."_

_Kurako bowed as well. "I'm Kurako Kaneyama."_

"Eh? Kurako?" Kenda was saying, frowning slightly at the expression on the gymnast's face. "Are you feeling unwell?"

Kurako clenched her hands into fists, staring down at her lap. "I - I uhm..." Her face turned even redder. "They - they're-"

Fumie tilted her head, a confused smile on her own face. Why was Kurako being so weird? "We're her friends," she supplied, her confusion growing even more at the sight of Kurako flinching. "Who're you?"

Kenda smiled back at the group. "I'm Kenda Beck. I'm Kurako's friend too!"

"Wow, Kurako's making tons of friends!"

"Excuse me a minute!" Kurako suddenly yelled, standing up, putting the bento aside, and bolting from the room. She'd gone before anyone could even say anything or call her back, shoving Fumie and Kotone aside on her way out. She'd kept her head bowed, but Kotone could see the bright red on her cheeks, and the slight tears in her eyes.

_Ohhhh...I see._

* * *

"E-Eh? Kurako?" Aoi called out, fists pressed to her chest. "Kurako, where're you going?" She glanced over at Kenda, bowed briefly with a quick "Excuse us, please" and ran out after her roommate. "Kurako!"

Pretty Cure exchanged glances with each other, edging towards the doors as well. Only Uta stayed behind, shrugging her shoulders weakly at Kenda. "Uhm...'scuse them?" she mumbled as the other girls ran out, leaving two very-confused civilians behind.

* * *

Kurako hadn't run very far at all, as it turned out. The girls saw her sitting on the stairs just around the corner from the pool, not six feet away. She was sitting on the bottom step, curled against the wall as if she wanted to disappear into it, head lowered with her arms around her knees. She didn't move as the girls slowed their steps and stopped in front of her.

"Hey, Kurako," Fumie began, frowning slightly. "What was that for? We just wondered where you were going, is all."

Kurako said nothing.

"That Kenda girl seemed very nice," Aoi tried. "Why didn't you introduce us?"

Nothing.

Kotone sighed, stepping forward, then sitting beside Kurako on the stairs. "Hey, guys," she said, looking up at the other two girls. "Can you get us some sodas?"

"Water," Kurako rasped. "'s better for athletes."

"Water and soda?"

"Uhm, sure," Fumie said with a nod. As she and Aoi turned to find a vending machine, she shot Kurako a sympathetic yet confused look. "Hey, whatever's eating you, Kurako, it can't be too bad...cheer up, okay?" And then she jogged down the hall to catch Aoi.

For a few moments, neither remaining girl said a word. Finally, Kotone sighed, leaning back a little with her hands supporting her weight. "So. You made a new friend." It was a statement, not a question. An observation.

Kurako twitched a little, then nodded faintly.

"She seemed nice."

"She is."

"And you've been eating lunch with her?"

"Yeah."

There was another moment of silence. Then Kurako sniffled, speaking up again. "But...but Aoi's my friend too," she said. For a moment, she was in kindergarten again, wearing her little uniform, her cute little yellow hat, standing alone in the classroom. Seeing every other child partnering, grouping up, playing and laughing together, Some of them shooting her odd looks before turning away. Kurako frowned; in her mind, little-Kurako frowned too. "Did...do you know I've never had a friend before coming to Atama?"

_Now she was older, though still a child. The odd looks were now full-on glares, or looks of disgust, or simpering smiles. The past Kurako's head lowered, bangs hiding her eyes._

"I never knew how to make a friend. Or even to keep one. I don't know how to do anything when it comes to friends."

_Kurako stood in her new Atama Academy uniform, staring at the room she'd been assigned, swallowing nervously as her hands held tighter to her suitcase. A girl in braids and glasses came up behind her, patting her shoulder and smiling sweetly._

"With Aoi...she did most of the work, it felt like. I didn't have to do anything to be friends with her. I just...

"And now I want Kenda to be my friend too. But she and Aoi are in different clubs, have different dreams, they even act a little different. I don't want to stop being friends with Aoi because I'm friends with Kenda, but I don't want Kenda to not be my friend either. That's why I didn't tell you guys about her. Because she's different from Aoi, and everyone else. I can't possibly have such different friends, can I?"

Kotone had sat and listened patiently the entire time, face neutral. When it was clear Kurako was finished, or at least was at a loss on what to say next, she smiled faintly, turning away from her to look vaguely down the hallway. She sighed, though not in frustration. "You know," she said. "Uta and me...we were best friends in kindergarten."

Kurako shifted her gaze to Kotone, wiping her nose on her sleeve, wondering where this was going exactly.

Kotone's eyes narrowed slightly as she still smiled. She could just see it in her mind's eye: herself and Uta as small children, back when they looked nearly-identical, wearing their identical blue dresses and yellow hats. "We did everything together. We were sisters, and twins at that, so it only made sense at the time. And we liked the same things. We'd sing together, play hopscotch, watch the same TV shows and anime...We were each other's only friends for a little while, and each other's best friend, too." She remembered how they were a few years after that, when Uta had cut her hair and Kotone herself had grown hers out, when Uta started to favor cute skirts and Kotone started to wear jeans... "Then we got older, and our interests started to drift, just a little bit. We still loved music, but Uta liked singing while I liked to play instruments. Uta liked to go shopping and sew, and I liked to play games. We made new friends who shared those interests, made new friends in the seperate clubs we joined. But...you know..."

Uta and Kotone walked home together, chatting happily about their dinner plans that night.

"We were still each other's best friend. Even though we were making new friends with new interests, that didn't mean we had to stop being friends ourselves. It never does." Kotone turned to smile at Kurako, chuckling faintly at the look of wide-eyed surprise on her face. "And hey! We don't have everything in common, do we? We're all Pretty Cure, but some of us draw and some of us play music and some of us cook. But we're all still friends, right?"

Kurako blinked. "We...we are?"

"And Mari and Fumie are 'bestest friends forever,'" Kotone tried to mimic Mari's cheery voice. "And Fumie's made new friends in us too! But that didn't mean she had to stop being Mari's friend-now Mari's our friend too.

"It's kinda like that foreign ditty, y'know? About making new friends but keeping your old ones, because one's gold and one's silver? D'you get it?"

Kurako had to admit she was a little bit lost by the end of Kotone's speech, but she laughed faintly, nodding and wiping tears from her eyes. "I - I guess so," she chuckled.

At that moment, Fumie and Aoi returned, their arms full of sodas and waters. "Here!" Fumie chirped. "We brought something for Kenda, too!" She paused, taking in the sight of Kurako's teary eyes. "Hey, Kurako...are you crying?"

"N-No! It...it's pool-water! Some of it got in my eyes, is all!"

* * *

Uta and Kenda sat on the bench together in awkward silence. Kenda kept glancing at the rest of the bento's contents, licking her lips a little. Finally, Uta coughed and forced a smile as she turned to look at Kenda.

"So, uhm! That's a funny-sounding accent you have there. Where you from?"

"Oh. I'm from Britain."

"Ooooh, how do crumpets taste? I've never had one," Uta said, eyes widening faintly.

"I have not had one before either."

Unseen by them, the familiar dark vortex appeared in the spot where spectators were meant to sit. Gachan appeared from it, a Dream-Eating Crane in his hands. His mouth twitched faintly as he felt the pain in his chest, the sign that there was a Dream Shard nearby. "You'll keep them busy, won't you?" he murmured, releasing the Dream-Eating Crane. The black paper-animal fluttered down, finally coming to rest on a nearby inner-tube.

* * *

Kurako was finally drying her tears when-

_**"Kyaaaah!"**_

_**"K-Kotone!"**_

"Uta!" Kotone's head snapped up at the sound of her sister's cry and Kenda's scream. Their drinks forgotten, the girls raced back to the pool, skidding to a halt when they saw the Bakuko.

It was a giant inner-tube, the keyhole at the top and the two yellow, angry eyes on either side of the ring. Long, noodle-like legs stretched from the bottom of the ring to touch the bottom of the pool as it stood in the center. "Bakuuu!" it screeched.

"Wh-what is that?" Kenda cried in English, pressing herself against the edge of the bench. Not noticing the Dream Shard beneath it.

Luckily, she was too preoccupied with the monster in front of her to see the girls glancing at each other, nodding as one and pulling out their PreCure PCs. No time for drama or theatrics!

"Pretty Cure! Show my future!"  
"Painting the world with new tints, Cure Ink!"  
"Spinning with grace and strength, Cure Twirl!"  
"Adding flavor and zest to life, Cure Spice!"  
"Drumming a new life's rhythm, Cure Beat!"  
"Protecting everyone's dreams, Pretty Cure Bukatsudo Energetic!"

"This'll be a piece of cake!" Beat shouted cockily, running towards the pool's edge and leaping up, aiming a hard punch at the Bakuko's rubbery skin. "You are going - _uwah!"_ she cried out as her punch had no effect. Or rather, it did, but not the one she wanted. Her fist sank into the Bakuko for a moment before she was suddenly sent flying backwards. "Kyaah!"

"Beat!" Spice jumped into the air, wrapping her arms around her purple-haired teammate and landing safely on the floor. "You okay?"

"Bakubaku-ku!" the monster laughed at Beat, making her face turn bright red.

"Why, you..." she growled, standing up to get ready to charge again.

"Beat, no, that won't cut it!" Ink snapped.

Kenda, utterly confused as well as terrified, pressed herself further against the bench. "What is happening?" she cried, now in Japanese again. "What is that creature, and who are these girls?"

"Th-they're here to help!" Uta tried to console her, hugging her out of her own fear. "It's okay!"

Ink glanced at her teammates. "Everyone! let's try and hit it all together!" With those words said, Pretty Cure jumped into the air, aiming a straight-kick at the Bakuko. If they all hit at once, surely it would have better effect-

-nope. As Beat had before, all the girls were sent backwards and at the wall. "Gyaah!"

The Bakuko wasn't even trying to fight now. It just cackled at them, eyes narrowing in obvious mirth. Up above, the visible half of Gachan's mouth curved into a very slight smirk. This would be easy after all, wouldn't it? "Bakuko!" he commanded, alerting Pretty Cure to his presence at last. "Get the Dream Shard!" he continued, pointing to the bench.

"Baku!" the creature crowed. Then, proving it could use its noodle-like appendages as arms as well as legs, it snaked one of them out towards the bench.

Where Kenda and Uta were.

Both girls held each other tighter, crying out as they were hoisted skyward and flung away.

"Uta!" Beat screamed. Much as Spice had done for her, she jumped up, grabbing her sister tightly. But she'd overstepped it, and instead of landing on the ground, she found herself falling towards the opposite side of the pool, towards the other spectator benches. One arm wrapped around Uta, Beat used her other hand to grab onto the safety-railing, and there the two girls dangled. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"'m fine. Just don't make me look down," Uta squeaked.

Meanwhile, Twirl saw Kenda falling towards the pool itself. "K-Kenda, no!" she screamed. The magenta Pretty Cure launched herself forward, grabbing onto Kenda just before she hit the water. The two of them sank straight to the bottom of the pool, Twirl holding her breath as she forced herself to land on her feet, keeping Kenda from a far worse fate than shock and being knocked unconscious. Underwater, Twirl's eyes snapped open for an instant before she propelled herself back to the surface, breaking it and landing on another side of the pool. Her hair had come out of its bun, allowing her now-waist-length, curly hair to cascade down her back. The pearl band that had secured it had come apart as well, pearls loosely clinging to her hair.

Twirl gently set Kenda down safely, then whipped her head around to look-no, glare-over her shoulder at the Bakuko. _"How dare you?"_ she snarled. She stood, turning around to fully face it. _"How **dare** you?! I finally make a new friend, and you hurt her?! I don't care what your reasoning is-I may be awkward with people, I may not have had a friend before coming to school here, but I know how to treat people! And if anyone-monster or human-knows what's good for them...!"_ Twirl leapt into the air, spinning herself around as she neared the startled Bakuko, slamming a spinning side-kick into its side. This one, an attack from the side rather than head-on, had effect; the Bakuko fell aside, quickly taking great steps, splashing water everywhere, to keep its balance. But Twirl wasn't done yet. She landed underwater, launched herself skyward from the pool-bottom again, and performed another sharp spin-kick.

_"They!"_

Kick.

_"Do not!"_

Kick.

_"Bully!"_

Kickkickick.

_"My...**FRIENDS!**_" Twirl aimed another, more powerful, side-kick and hit her mark.

The Bakuko, unable to withstand much more abuse, collapsed to its "knees," quivering faintly. "Baku?!"

"Pretty Cure...Grace Hurricane!" Twirl cried.

The attack hit the Bakuko directly on the keyhole mark. "B-bakuko! Baku..." it murmured drowsily, eyes drifting shut as it seemed to deflate a bit. In a flash of light, the Bakuko was gone, a harmless inner tube floating in the middle of the pool once more.

Up above, Gachan tsk'ed under his breath. "She only _now_ knows about friends?" he murmured, the dark vortex appearing behind him. "Such stupid girls, our enemies are," he added, vanishing inside.

* * *

That evening, Kenda sat on the stairs by the pool, wincing and rubbing her head.

"Uhm...hey..." Kurako approached her, another, larger, bento in her hands. She smiled apologetically at the foreigner. "I'm uh...sorry about today. M-My friends, and...your head."

Kenda smiled, teeth showing. "It is alright!" she beamed. "I just can't believe I was so clumsy as to hit my head on the side like that. What was I thinking?"

Kurako laughed nervously. She hadn't told Kenda that had happened; Kenda thought it all on her own when she woke up to see a nervous, teary Kurako hovering over her in the infirmary. She'd figured that had to be the best explanation for her sudden unconsciousness and very - vague memories after all. A giant floatie-monster? Really! "Well, I'm glad the nurse let you go...it's just a bruise, right?"

"Yes, that's what she says. I should be back in the pool soon, but not now. Not when I might smack my head again," Kenda laughed, then quieted as she noticed the sheer size of the bento Kurako had. "Hey, Kurako...may I ask why the size? I eat a lot, but not that much."

Kurako blushed. "Oh...w-well, you see..."

"We're_ heeeeere!_" Fumie cheered, skipping down the steps towards the two girls. Behind her trailed Kotone, Aoi, Mari, and Uta, all of them with smaller bentos of their own, and little plastic sporks. "I hope we're not late!"

Kurako smiled broadly. "Kenda, I thought it'd be nice if we made the eating-group bigger...and if we all had supper together. Kenda, these are my silver friends; Fumie, Aoi, Kotone, Uta, and Mari." Each girl smiled and lifted a hand as her name was called-save for Mari, who simply said 'Yo!' "Everyone, this is my gold friend...Kenda."

"Nice to meet you~!" everyone chorused, settling down on the stairs.

* * *

**ED: "Lead Me There" - YUME featuring Mari**

* * *

**ON THE NEXT EPISODE:**

**Kemuri:** "Woah, look at this! I've never seen something so amazing before!"  
**Chuusha:** "Kemuri! Pull yourself together! We aren't here to sight-see, we're here to further the cause and help Nocturna!"  
**Kemuri:** "I dunno, this all looks pretty amazing...can't we take one little detour?"  
**Chuusha:** "I said no!" Gachan: "Ladies, stop it. The more we laze about and argue, the worse things are for Nocturna and the further we get from our goal. Haven't you noticed something odd about her?"  
**Fureyaa:** "I've been noticing a lot of odd things..."  
**Kemuri:** "Next time on Pretty Cure Bukatsudo Energetic: Nocturna's Affliction! Leave Me Alone! We're taking control of next meeting!"


	13. Chapter 13

Kaana watched contentedly as Uta deftly moved her needle in and out of Mari's ribbon-and-headband. After a moment, the pigtailed girl held the headband at arm's length to inspect it, nodded her satisfaction, and passed it over to Kaana. Kaana bit the thread to sever it, and then the job was finished. "Ta-da~" Uta chirped, holding the headband out to Mari. "Your Cure headband is all fixed!"

"Uwah, thank you, Uta~!" Mari cheered, taking it back and slipping it onto her head. "You're a life-saver!"

"How'd it get torn, anyway?" Kotone asked, eyebrows lowered.

Mari and Fumie laughed awkwardly, hands going behind their heads in sync. "W-Well, y'see..." Mari began.

"Mari and I were training together!" Fumie finished, holding up an index finger.

Hisa frowned. "I saw that," she deadpanned. "It was not training." Indeed, she'd seen the whole thing from the dorm windows...

* * *

_"Take that! Pretty Cure Beanbag!" Cure Ink laughed as she chucked a small beanbag at Mari._

_Mari, clad in her Cure Cheer outfit, laughed, neatly spinning aside and scooping another from the ground. "You're no match for me, Pretty Cure!" Mari hurled her beanbag at Ink-quickly followed by three more as she chased after her friend. "Take this! Pretty Cure Beanbag Assault!"_

_"Eeeek, nooo!" Ink laughed, running away as Mari continued throwing the toys at her._

_"Pretty Cure Beanbag Assault! Pretty Cure Lovely Beanbag! Pretty Cure Beanbag Spiral! Pretty-uh oh!" Mari cried, tripping and falling forward. In doing so, her ribbon had caught on a loose part of the chain-link fence, and now there was a sizable tear in it._

* * *

"You girls need to take this more seriously," she sighed, glancing over at Himemiya, now wearing a tiny Pretty Cure outfit herself. "Mora still has the Dream Charm...and who knows what horrendous things they're planning now..."

* * *

"Uwaaaaah~" Kemuri stood in front of the TV display, eyes wide and sparkling. Twenty TVs, all stacked on top of each other, and all of them broadcasting ads for a new episode of her favorite soap? Heaven! She pressed her hands to the glass, leaning in to get a better look.

Chuusha walked past her. "Come on, Kemuri," she grumbled.

"B-B-But...But The Young and the Sleepless!" Kemuri squealed, unable to think of anything else to say. "Twenty of them!"

Wordlessly, Chuusha did a U-turn and went back to Kemuri. Grabbing her by the ear, she turned again and dragged the protesting girl off.

* * *

**OP: "Purikyua Club" - Bukatsudo Four**

* * *

Nocturna sat in her chair, alone in the dark. Her eyes were closed, as usual, but this time her expression was tense. Her brows twitched every now and then as she grit her teeth under her lips. She was...in pain.

**_Failure._**

Her eyes snapped open as she gasped. She looked around the darkness for a moment before her eyes settled on the small, white pedestal a few feet away from her. That wasn't there before...one of her soldiers must have conjured it for her. But her attention wasn't solely on that.

Sitting atop it was the partially-assembled Dream Charm.

Nocturna winced in pain at the mere sight of it. "Ugh!"

_**Failure.**_

_**You can't win.**_

_**They'll beat you. They'll stop you.**_

"Shut up..."

_**Pretty Cure will-**_

"I SAID SHUT UP!" Her head snapped up from its previous downcast position, eyes snapping open angrily. A dark purple aura pulsed from her and shot towards the Dream Charm, knocking it to the floor, where it lay seemingly harmless. _"Shut up...shut up..."_ she continued to growl, hands clenching into fists, that purple aura pulsing harder.

* * *

**TODAY'S EPISODE: Nocturna's Affliction! Leave Me Alone!**

* * *

Fureyaa stood at Sparkling Fountain, a soft drink in his hand. He sighed dramatically after taking a long drink, seemingly-oblivious to how people were staring at his unusual attire. "Phwaaah, they're laaaate." He set his drink on the rim of the fountain, scanning the crowds for his allies. "It's not like 'em to be late. Especially Chuusha..."

"Boo."

"Uwaaaah!" Fureyaa scrambled away, knocking his soda into the water. "Chu-Chuusha!" he cried, stomping foot as he glared up at her. "You owe me a new soda!"

Chuusha stood on the rim of the fountain, apparently having come around the other side and stopped behind Fureyaa. She was still holding Kemuri's ear-rather painfully, if the girl's whimpering and teary eyes were any indication. Chuusha rolled her eyes, flicking a casual glance at the soda can. "Ugh, you like that human stuff? It's disgusting."

"Nuh-uh!" Kemuri snapped. "It's delicious! I like the ice-cream here best, and_-owowowowowow!"_ she cried as Chuusha gripped her ear harder before letting go. The monocle'd girl hopped off the fountain, both hands over her ear as she jogged to hie behind Fureyaa.

"Listen, brats," Chuusha said, hopping off the fountain and striding over to them. "Just because we've got the Dream Charm now doesn't mean we can go around lowering our guard. _You..._" Pointing at Fureyaa. "Haven't attacked Pretty Cure at all lately. And _you."_ At Kemuri. "Were beaten by a few kicks? And someone who _wasn't_ a Pretty Cure?"

"You weren't there!" whined Kemuri. "Those girls were - _**gah!**_" She cried out again as Chuusha punched the top of her head.

"The point is, we're still not even halfway to our goal. And we can't give up now. That's why we're out here today, to find more of those shards! Not drink soda, not watch stupid dramas, to do our jobs. You got that?"

The younger two stared up at Chuusha for a few moments before lowering their gazes, sighing sadly. "We got it..."

"Good."

* * *

Out of the four generals, one was not searching for Dream Shards.

Gachan had conjured a teakettle and small teacup, and was pouring a drink for Nocturna. Surely she could drink it now-she was regaining consciousness more often. And although she was getting sustenance from the gelatinous ooze that surrounded the chair and herself, he thought that surely she'd appreciate actually tasting something.

Suddenly, his one visible eye shifted, looked towards Nocturna's door. "Lady Nocturna?" Gachan called quietly.

Inside, Nocturna sat in her chair, head bowed, dark aura pulsating more than ever. Her breathing was heavy, her hair had slipped out of its headband and fell over her eyes. "Shut up...be quiet..._be quiet!"_

"Lady Nocturna, are you alright?" Gachan drew towards the door.

Nocturna's head snapped open again, revealing that her pupils had shrunken down to pinpricks, all light gone from her eyes. "BE QUIET!" she shrieked. The dark aura pulsed once, and Nocturna pulled herself from the chair and the ooze around it, falling to the floor in a heap.

"Lady Nocturna!" Gachan called. He reached for the door handle. "I'm coming in!"

The girl lifted her head, teeth clenched.

* * *

"Earrrrrrgh!" Chuusha screamed skyward as she angrily ruffled her hair. "A whole _hour?!_ An hour of nothing but you two screwing around!" she screamed.

Kemuri and Fureyaa stood in front of her, hands behind their backs, heads bowed. Though Chuusha, too busy ranting, couldn't see, they were looking sidelong at each other.

"Fureyaa, you had to go and get that stupid ice-cream-!"

"I'm getting pretty tired of her yelling at us, are you?" he whispered to Kemuri.

"And the stupid TV shop display again-!"

"Yeah..."

"The fountain incident-you're both old enough to realize that light on the water is not a Dream Shard-!"

"It's not our faults this city has so much to offer..."

"And you better listen when I talk to you-!"

"Yeah. And not my fault The Young and the Sleepless has such good writing." Kemuri grinned shamelessly at Fureyaa-then cried out sharply as Chuusha rapped her knuckles against her skull. "Owww!"

"Pay attention when I talk to you!" Chuusha snarled.

"Waaaagh! Fureyaa, heeeeelp!" Kemuri wailed as Chuusha pulled her into a headlock and began to grind her knuckles against her scalp. "Fureyaaaa!"

However, Furyeaa had spotted something beyond the two girls. His eyes widened slightly, breath hitching in his throat as he saw her.

She went unseen by everyone else, and Fureyaa nearly missed her, hiding behind the telephone pole like that, but it was her alright. Ayumu was half-hidden behind the pole, staring at the group with large, nervous-looking eyes. Or at least the one visible one.

Then she noticed Fureyaa staring, and he heard her gasp even from where he stood. Before he could say anything, she turned and fled. "H-hey, wait!" Fureyaa called out, rushing past Kemuri and Chuusha.

"Fu-re-yaa!" Chuusha snarled as he shoved her.

* * *

In an alleyway, Ayumu stepped out of a brick wall, glancing around in fright. Had she lost him? Her hands bunched into fists at her chests as she stared at the ground, trembling slightly. What was this odd feeling in her chest? It was like...

It was like...

"Aha!" Fureyaa popped out of seemingly-nowhere (though really he'd come in from the entrance by the street), startling the poor ghost-girl. "Wait, don't run again!" he added frantically as her eyes grew shiny and she looked even more nervous. "I need to talk to you!"

Ayumu hesitated, eyes shifting so she looked everywhere but at Fureyaa. Her fists still trembled, but finally she spoke up. "O-Okay..."

Huh. That was easy. Fureyaa straightened his shoulders, staring at Ayumu's face. "Listen...I know you're not an ordinary ghost. You can't be." When Ayumu looked even more frightened, he clarified: "That's not automatically a bad thing! I mean to say..." He frowned. "The Dream Shards are attracted to you. You can call them over to you, can't you?"

* * *

_There was a slight chill in the air, a breeze, and the Dream Shard was gone._

_"What the-?!" Chuusha cried, whirling around. And then she spotted a Ayumu hiding in the tree above her, palm outstretched with the Dream Shard floating above it._

* * *

"No normal spirit can do that," Fureyaa repeated, not taking his eyes off Ayumu. "So...so why can you?"

Ayumu didn't say anything. She just looked even more like a frightened puppy, ducked her head so her bangs completely covered her eyes.

"...why can you?" Fureyaa repeated, softer and more gently now.

She slowly looked up at him again, that familiar feeling back. Fureyaa felt like his heart stopped for a second. "I-I..."

"Fureyaa!" Chuusha's voice was distant, but she was gaining on his location fast.

Ayumu gasped and, before Fureyaa could stop her, she vanished. Fureyaa stared at the spot she'd been occupying, eyes wide. Somehow...I feel like I should know her.

Chuusha and Kemuri appeared just then, panting slightly from running. "There you are! What were you thinking, running off like that?" Kemuri demanded, glaring slightly. "We had to look all over for you, and Chuusha kept pulling my hair!"

"Only to make you run faster!" Chuusha snapped back.

Before anything more could be said, the familiar dark vortex appeared behind them. All three villains tensed up, then slowly looked back to stare at it. "Wh-what? So soon?" Chuusha muttered with a frown.

Gachan's urgent voice echoed from inside. "Everyone, return at once! Lady Nocturna is-!"

Inside her room, Nocturna had risen to her feet, head bowed with her hair falling in strings around her face. She slowly lifted her head again, revealing that her eyes were glowing a cold, ice-blue as she snarled.

* * *

**Eyecatch 1:** Fumie stands at an easel, tongue poking out slightly as she carefully dabs some paint onto the canvas. Satisfied, she steps back and spins the easel around to reveal a watercolor of Cure Ink, the PCBE logo where a signature should be.

**Eyecatch 2:** Kurako, Aoi, Kotone, Mari, Uta, Kaana and Hisa all sit down on the floor, watching Fumie. Fumie stands at a podium and bangs a rubber gavel, calling the club meeting to order. The PCBE logo appears in the corner.

* * *

In Nocturna's room, the dark vortex appeared, and the wicked trio jumped gracefully out of it. Chuusha ran forward towards Gachan, who stared into the shadows. "Gachan! What's happening?!"

Before he could answer, two glowing yellow dots appeared in the darkness, slowly rising upward. A low growling was heard, and then-

-a dark purple beam of energy shot out at Chuusha.

"Hey!" Chuusha snapped, leaping aside. She was just in time, too, as the beam singed her dress. Landing and skidding a little, Chuusha glared into the darkness. "Who - Wait, Lady Nocturna?" she gasped.

Nocturna stepped out, hair falling in disarray over her face. Her hands were held out in front of her, palms out, still glowing faintly from her attack. Her pupils, shrunken down to pinkpricks, quivered a bit as she tilted her head heavily to one side. "_Shut up...all of you shut up...!_"

"L-Lady Nocturna!" Kemuri cried, then screamed as she was answered by another energy beam. The pigtailed girl wasn't as lucky as her colleague, being hit right in the chest and skidding backwards along the cold, merciless floor. She screamed again as a dark aura briefly pulsed around her before seemingly being drawn back into her own body. "Wh-what is this?" she gasped.

"Shut up...All of you, mocking me..." Nocturna half panted, half snarled. Her pupils quivered again, and she, moving like a woman possessed, drew one arm back to gather more dark energy. "All of you..._all of you...!_" She snapped her arm forward, aiming more shots of energy at each of her generals. Chuusha and Fureyaa were knocked back, but Gachan leaped upwards to avoid it, landing in front of Nocturna.

"Lady Nocturna! Stop this right now!" he said, grabbing her shoulders tightly.

Nocturna's pupils grew so small they were barely visible._ "Don't touch me..."_

Another blast of energy shot Gachan clear to the other side of the room. He slid to the floor painfully, clenching his teeth as the dark aura was pulled inward.

Nocturna slowly, unsteadily walked towards him, arms swaying slightly, head moving from side to side as if it suddenly felt too heavy for her to hold up. "All of you...no one believes in me...no one realizes my goal, my intentions...you all just humor me, don't you?" she rasped, slowly looking up at them again, head still tilted, hair falling over her face. Her expression cold and blank, lifeless. "You think...you know...I'm a failure...This is why you all fail me. Because I fail, don't I? Well?..." A dark aura pulsated and flared up around her as she suddenly straightened, back arching as she readied more energy blasts, sparks crackling around her arms.**_ "DON'T IIII?!"_**

The energy blasted outward in a ring, shaking the entire room, causing blobs of darkness to fall from the ceiling. Chuusha swiftly rose to her feet as if she'd felt nothing, sweeping her arm outward and sending multiple needles out to destroy them. "I can't take much more of this!" she snarled, ducking low and charging at her leader.

"Ch-Chuusha, no!" Kemuri cried as she too tried to rise, buckling a little as another aura from Nocturna's attack was pulled inward. "You can't-she's our Lady Nocturna!"

"I don't know what she even is anymore!" Chuusha retorted, jumping into the air and sweeping her arms out, sending needles upon the dark-haired girl. "All I know is we have to calm her down! Something's making her crazy!"

* * *

_'Crazy?...'_ Kemuri thought dizzily, eyes closing tightly. She thought back...she remembered...

_"G-Get it away from me," Nocturna hissed._

_"But...but you said it was going to help you, right? I don't get why-"_

_Nocturna lifted her arm and slapped the charm out of Kemuri's grasp. The pig-tailed girl shrieked and pulled her hands to her chest as the charm clattered to the floor a few feet away._

_"I said get it away from me!" Nocturna shrieked._

* * *

_That's it!_ Kemuri thought, eyes snapping open as she gasped faintly. _The charm! The charm's not completed, and her being close to it must be...!_ "S-someone!" she cried, straightening up and pointing to the partially-assembled charm on the floor at Nocturna's feet. The charm gave off a faint, soft white glow, seeming so innocent... "Get that away from Lady Nocturna!"

"Get away from me!" Nocturna screamed as Gachan ran forward. She readied more powerful blasts, but the taller man grabbed her fore-arms, forcing her hands upward, arms bent at the elbows. Nocturna screeched inhumanly, the energy flowing down around them both in sparks. "Let go, let go, let go of me!"

"Lady Nocturna! Calm down! This isn't like you! Remember why we're doing this!" Gachan cried, tightening his grip on her. His one visible pupil quivered slightly before he shut his eyes. "We're doing this for you, Lady...We're doing this for your sake, remember!"

_Remember..._

_Four shadowy figures. A long-haired girl-Nocturna-approaching them, speaking with dramatic sweeps of her arms, speaking of a wondrous Charm..._

_**He lies...he lies...**_ That voice she'd heard earlier repeated.

"Lady Nocturna!" Fureyaa slid forward along the floor, one leg outstretched in front of him. He threw down his hand, creating a blast of blinding light, making everyone but him shut their eyes in pain. Fureyaa took the moment to slide past his teammate and leader-

-he grabbed the Dream Charm-

-it brushed against Nocturna's leg as he moved past-

-Nocturna's eyes shot open as another blast of light emanated from the charm, and she screeched as the dark aura around her blew away. Both lights faded, Fureyaa having made it to the other side of the room, and Nocturna's eyes closed. Her body swayed slightly, and she fell into Gachan's arms.

* * *

"Owwwwowowow..." Kemuri whined, screwing her eyes tightly shut.

"Oh, don't be a crybaby," Chuusha muttered, smacking Kemuri upside the head as she withdrew her needle. "It's just a shot to make you better, man up and take it." She turned to face Gachan, standing there with his sleeves rolled up, arms heavily-bandaged.

"Okay. From what I can gather, it was the healing gel she's in. We may have put too much in there, and it caused her energy levels to skyrocket past her body's current limit. Still," she added with a dark frown. "This doesn't explain her paranoia. We may need to keep...a closer eye on her," she added, toying with a needle.

Fureyaa stood in the background, leaning against a random pillar, Dream Charm in his hand. He looked from his teammates to the charm, fear and curiosity etched in his expression._ Just...Just what did you **do?**_

* * *

**ED: "Lead Me There" - YUME featuring Mari**

* * *

**Kotone:** "Aaaaargh, this is bad, this is very very bad!"  
**Aoi:** "Well, I think it's cute that Uta's going on a date! She's adorable, someone had to court her, right?"  
**Kotone:** "No, you don't understand!"  
**Kurako:** "I know it's hard for sisters to be pushed aside in favor of a boy, but we should be happy for her!"  
**Kotone:** "You don't understaaand!"  
**Fumie:** "And I'm sure the boy is very, very nice!"  
**Kotone:** "You don't understand! The boy taking her out today is Fureyaa!"  
**All:** "EEHHHHHHH?!"  
**Kotone:** "Next time on Pretty Cure Bukatsudo Energetic: Cozy With The Enemy! Uta's New Friend Is...! Don't be late for next meeting!"

* * *

**Notes:** Well, these chapters were all previously written and posted elsewhere, and so I decided to put them all here in short order. Now that I'm caught up here, I can get to work on writing and posting the new chapters! I hope they'll be better than these have been.


	14. Chapter 14

School courtyard. Early morning. No one had even begun to head to classes yet.

All there were in the yard...was Pretty Cure, in their civilian forms. And all four of them were glaring hard at Fureyaa. Across from them, Fureyaa held one arm around Uta's shoulders, grasping her hand with his own free hand. Uta looked between Fureyaa and the girls, a fearful look on her face. "K-Kotone..." she whispered.

"Pretty Cure...Kotone Suzuki..." Fureyaa said in a low, hard voice.

The girls' arms tensed up, ready to go for their PreCure PCs. Kaana and Hisa peered out of Fumie's bag.

And suddenly Fureyaa released Uta and swung downward in a stiff, formal bow. "Kotone Suzuki! Please let me date your sister!"

"..." Everyone just stared, blank-faced. Finally, Kotone broke the silence, with a single, high-pitched, "_Eh?!_"

* * *

**OP: "Purikyua Club" - Bukatsudo Four**

* * *

"You...want to date..._my_ sister?" Kotone echoed, staring incredulously at the still-bowed Fureyaa.

"You got it~!" Fureyaa beamed as he straightened, holding up an index finger as he tilted his head. "Bing-bing-bing~! I wanted to date her a while now, but I couldn't until I asked you first! Uta's idea," he added, waving a hand towards the pigtailed girl.

Uta smiled sheepishly. "Yeah...I figured since you're Pretty Cure and he's...well. It would be best if we asked you first. So, c'mon, Kotone, what do you think?"

Kotone just stared, eyes narrowed, brows lowered, slightly slack-jawed. Her brow twitched a little as she tried to make herself say 'no.' And to think of an explanation that didn't involve the phrases "you idiot," "enemy," and "over my dead body." And the one she finally settled on was...

"N-No way!" she cried, hands balling into fists. She glared accusingly at Fureyaa, then cast a near-helpless look at Uta.

"Have you forgotten who this guy is?! We're supposed to be enemies-you'd be f-fraternizing with the enemy! And most importantly...He stands out way too much! You can't date a guy who goes shirtless all the time-you just can't-!"

"Oh, that's no problem!" Fureyaa just grinned, holding up an index finger and tilting his head once again. "I've got the perfect disguise-I've been working on it since last week!" Before anyone could object, Fureyaa closed his eyes and lowered his head.

A strange wind whipped up, seemingly from nowhere, and it only affected Fureyaa. His cape started to wave softly, then suddenly whipped up to shield him...

...and it suddenly vanished as it fell back down, revealing a tanned young man with shaggy, red-orange hair. In his jeans and t-shirt, he looked no different from any other guy off the street. He opened his eyes, revealing them to be orange now, and made the V-sign as he grinned. "Ta-da~ Hikaru Tachibana, nice to meet you all!"

Everyone just stared.

* * *

**TODAY'S EPISODE:** Cozy With The Enemy! Uta's New Friend Is...!

* * *

"C'mon, please?" Fureyaa, or rather, Hikaru, begged. He held his clasped hands in front of him as he leaned forward, giving Kotone the biggest puppy-eyes she'd seen. "C'mon, I've never asked you for anything!"

"Except the Dream Shards," Kurako muttered flatly, arms folded over her chest. On either side of her, Aoi and Fumie nodded in agreement, twin looks of exasperation on their faces. "Uh-huh."

"Well, okay, but you never actually gave them to me-and that was just work, nothing personal! C'mon, Kotone-Pretty please? I really like Uta, and she likes me too, and we're sick of hiding around!"

"No!" Kotone snapped.

"Please, Kotone?" That voice was Uta's. She came closer to Hikaru, hugging him from the side as she fixed the same pleading look onto her twin. "I don't ask you for a lot either! And Fureyaa, er - Hikaru's not like the rest of Mora - he's really nice, and he's funny, and sweet, and he never once tried to hurt me remember?"

"I never hurt a civilian!"

"Yeah! So please?"

"Please?"

"Please?"

Kotone had stood there, eye twitching the entire time as her jaw tightened. The rest of the girls looked at her in a mixture of curiosity and worry, as did the two snake-fairies. Finally, Kotone let out a loud screech that bordered on inhuman, and covered her ears.

"SHUT UUUUUP!"

Birds fled the trees.

* * *

"Fureyaa?" A puff of magenta smoke appeared in mid-air, and it faded to reveal Kemuri. She glanced around before "puffing" away again, only to appear on the floor this time. "Fureyaa~?" No answer. Kemuri "puffed" away again, reappeared at the table where Chuusha was sitting and drinking tea. "Fureyaaaaa? Hey, Chuusha, have you seen Fureyaa anywhere?" she asked. "I haven't seen him since the incident with Lady Nocturna!"

"I bet he's sulking somewhere," Chuusha grumbled, closing her eyes in irritation. "It's his fault we didn't find any Dream Shards-well, yours too, but he's more to blame. I bet he's off trying to avoid punishment."

"Well, that's no fair!" Kemuri placed her hands on her hips, stomped her foot. "I've been meaning to ask him...about this new stuff." Her irritated glare softened into a curious look as she regarded the older woman. "You've noticed too, right, Chuusha? Ever since Lady Nocturna got mad..."

* * *

_Black aura surrounded them as they were hit. It was pulled back into their bodies..._

* * *

"We've been a little...different. I can do more with my smoke, I feel stronger now...You feel it too, right?"

Chuusha just hmm'd before taking another sip, eyes still closed. "I've not the slightest idea what you're talking about."

"Oh c'mon! No fair, Chuusha, I've been poofing all over the place and experimenting with my skills, Fureyaa's not here to show me what he's got, Gachan's gone somewhere - the least you can do is show me what you can do too! C'mon, please? Please? Pleasepleasepleaseplease-"

"SHUT UP OR I'LL SKEWER YOU, YOU BRAT!" Chuusha slammed the cup down, suddenly on her feet and brandishing a giant, thin needle that'd come from seemingly-nowhere.

With a loud yelp, Kemuri immediately vanished into smoke.

* * *

Kotone marched down the hallway to her next class, bag slung over her shoulder as she glared at nothing in particular. Behind her, the rest of the girls walked a reasonable distance behind her, occasionally trading concerned glances at each other.

_'Kotone really wasn't happy...'_ Fumie thought.

* * *

_"No. Never." Kotone folded her arms again, back rigid as she glowered at Hikaru. "I know your game, boy-o. You're here to use my sister to get to me and the others, is that it?"_

_"Wh-what? No, no, that's totally wrong!" Hikaru protested, waving his hands in font of himself. "It's not that at all-I seriously like Uta, a whole lot! I just-"_

_"Shut up!" Kotone made to move forward, Hikaru stumbled back. Kotone reached out, grabbing Uta's wrist and pulling her over to her. "You can't have my sister! Not now, and not ever, and if I see your face-either of them-around school again, I'll give you the worst Drumroll Anticipation you've ever felt!" With that, she turned and stalked off, dragging Uta behind her, the pigtailed girl casting a helpless look at Hikaru._

* * *

"Uhm...Kotone?" Aoi ventured. "Don't you think that was a little too much?"

Kotone's answer was short, quick, and immediate. "No." Her purple eyes narrowed as she continued to glare ahead. "I know his game...He's only trying to use Uta to get to us. Get us to lower our guard...Or to ask her to give him the Dream Charm. Like I said before, it won't work. He can forget it!"

Uta's head lowered, so her bangs were covering her eyes, a shadow over her face.

Kotone, oblivious, kept on talking. "I mean, those people-those Mora guys-they're obviously nothing but cowards and villains! They don't know about stuff like...like love, or liking someone, I bet they don't even like each other!"

One of the girls slowed to a stop. One by one, the rest of the girls slowed their own steps, stopping and turning to look back at her. The last to look back was Kotone. "...Uta?"

Uta stood with her legs spaced apart slightly, her head downcast as her fists trembled at her sides. "You...You don't know him." Her head snapped up, revealing tears in her eyes and grit teeth. "You don't know him, so don't accuse him of such things! You don't know him at all!" That said, she pivoted on her heel and ran down the hallway, away from the other girls._ "You're so mean, Kotone!"_

"U-Uta, wait!" Kotone called after her, taking a step forward with her hand outstretched. She got no further, just staring as her sister ran off. "Uta?"

* * *

"And that's the assignment for today." The teacher set her chalk back down and stepped aside to reveal the questions on the board. "Everyone, pair up and turn in your papers at the end of the period." Everyone paired off as usual, heading to their regular partners. Except for one.

Kotone lifted her gaze from the paper in hand to the other side of the room. Uta, her usual partner in these things, had gone over to Hibiki instead, without a second glance at her sister. Kotone sighed quietly, looking morosely back at her paper.

A few desks away, Mari and Fumie glanced at each other over their own assignment. "It's rougher than we thought, huh?" Mari whispered.

Fumie bit her lower lip, nodding. "Poor Kotone...I can't even imagine how she feels. I've never seen Uta _not_ pair off with her before."

"Yeah...I dunno what I'd do if I were in Kotone's shoes, being rejected like that." Mari looked at her hands clasped on the desk.

Back with Kotone, she managed a tiny smile as Kurako approached, offering to be her partner. But it was clearly not a real, happy one.

* * *

Kemuri hadn't left Despair Horizon when she'd vanished. She had merely moved to another area in it, just to get away from Chuusha. Now she was grumbling to herself, shuffling around in the dark. Her good mood was spoiled now, so she didn't even want to teleport all over today. "Stupid, mean old Chuusha," she grumbled. "She didn't have to be so touchy about it..."

She passed by the door to Nocturna's room, and heard voices. Normally this wouldn't be a big deal, there was always voices in there-usually Nocturna's and Gachan's. But this time, a phrase caught Kemuri's ear, piqued her curiosity.

"Another Pretty Cure."

Kemuri froze, gasped. Another Cure? What, really? She moved towards the door, leaned against it with her ear to the wood to listen in.

Gachan's voice came next. "Lady Nocturna, are you certain of this?"

"The charm...that crystal told me. And I can feel it, Gachan...This particular group always has five in its number, every generation. You all reported four to me now...So there is one more yet to be found."

Gachan was saying something, but Kemuri didn't hear it. She had pulled away just then, eyes wide, a gleeful smile on her face.

"Wahaha~ Another Cure? I bet if I can get rid of this fifth one before it causes trouble, it'll make Chuusha not mad at me anymore! And then she'll have to grovel before me for forgiveness and never ever threaten me again!" Kemuri grinned, a dazed smile on her face as she envisioned herself atop a throne, Chussha kneeling and cowering before her. "Yes! Perfect plan~"

Kemuri giggled, skipping off.

* * *

"Eh? And now Uta won't even _speak_ to Kotone?" Kaana gasped, eyes wide.

The girls nodded as one. "Yeah. Just because Kotone got mad and won't let Uta date Fureyaa." Granted, the real reason was a lot bigger than that, but it was the simplest they could offer the young fairy.

"Or..." Aoi placed a fingertip on her lips, rolling her eyes skyward in thought. "Should we call him Hikaru now? He did re-introduce himself as 'Hikaru Tachibana.'"

"No way." Kurako frowned, crossing her arms in an X in front of herself. "The guy's still an enemy, no matter how much of a goofball he is. I'm gonna keep calling him 'Fureyaa.'"

"I've got to say, I'm with Kurako on this one," Hisa deadpanned.

"Hey, you guys, we're losing focus of the real issue here!" Fumie held her hands up, smiling awkwardly. "This is supposed to be about how to get Kotone and Uta to make up, remember?"

Pretty Cure, plus their two fairies and minus Kotone, were in Fumie and Mari's room after classes that day. After Kotone had spent that entire day being ignored by Uta, and being too upset to say anything, there'd been an emergency meeting called. It was too cruel to see sisters - especially twin sisters! - being like this, Fumie had thought. So there had to be something done!

Hisa spoke up just then. "Girls...this sounds cruel, but..."

* * *

Kotone sat alone in one of the classrooms, her drumsticks in hand. She morosely tapped out a slow rhythm on the desk, sighing sadly.

_For a second, she was a kid again, playing a tune on the kitchen table as her twin sat beside her. "You're awesome, Kotone!" young Uta said, smiling brightly._

It was the little things like that, small moments, that Kotone had liked. Just being together with her sister, having fun. They knew they cared a lot for each other without even saying a word.

Her memory changed, and young Kotone stood over a kneeling, crying Uta.

_The longer-haired twin blinked in shock as she held a teddy bear in her hands...with one of its arms ripped off and at her feet. "U-Uta..."_

_"Y-You're so mean, Kotone!" Uta sobbed as she stood up. She turned and ran from Kotone, leaving her sister to stand motionless. "I don't wanna play with you anymore!"_

* * *

"I don't think we should do anything about this ourselves."

This was such a strange thing for them to hear that everyone stopped talking at once, turned to stare at Hisa in surprise. Kaana blinked in surprise herself, and looked up at her sister. "Big sister? What are you saying?"

Hisa sighed. "Girls...listen. I know you want to help. I know you think it's awful, what's happened. And true, it is rather suspicious that Fureyaa wants to be closer to Kotone's sister. But this is an issue that has to be resolved between them. Not because of you. If Kaana and I had a fight, we wouldn't want someone else pushing us to make up, or making plans behind our backs." She smiled softly at Kaana, surprising her yet again. "Would you, Kaana?"

Kaana thought for a moment, her forked tongue peeping out from her mouth. Then she shook her head, looked around the group again. "No...you know what, I don't think I would. It's an invasion on our own business, and people can't truly reach an understanding or truly make up if others are forcing them to do it! R-right?" she looked at Hisa for support. Her sister nodded.

"I mean...it'll be okay. They're sisters."

* * *

Kotone stopped tapping the desk, stood up with a look of resolve in her eyes.

* * *

"Sooner or later, they make up."

"I gotta apologize. To Uta, at the least," Kotone mumbled to herself. She grabbed her bag from her desk, swung it over her shoulder. But in doing so, she glanced out the window again, and froze. Down below, she could see her sister rushing out to meet someone, glancing around as she went. And the person she was heading towards...

"F-Fureyaa?!" Kotone moved to the window, pressing her hand and forehead against the glass as she strained to see. He was in his human disguise from earlier, but yes, that was unmistakably Fureyaa! What was Uta thinking, going over to him? And after the conversation this morning-!

"Damn it, Uta!" Kotone moved to open the window, prepared to shout, yell at Uta to get away from that boy, for that boy to leave her sister alone, but then...

_"You're so mean, Kotone!"_

Once again, she froze. No...No, last time, Uta had yelled at her, she'd gotten mad. Kotone was worried for her sister's safety, but she didn't want to make Uta angry again. But she couldn't let her go off with Fureyaa either. So really...the best thing to do here was...  
Kotone slowly moved away from the window, turned and walked out of the classroom.

* * *

**Eyecatch 1:** Fumie stands at an easel, tongue poking out slightly as she carefully dabs some paint onto the canvas. Satisfied, she steps back and spins the easel around to reveal a watercolor of Cure Ink, the PCBE logo where a signature should be.  
**Eyecatch 2:** Kurako, Aoi, Kotone, Mari, Uta, Kaana and Hisa all sit down on the floor, watching Fumie. Fumie stands at a podium and bangs a rubber gavel, calling the club meeting to order. The PCBE logo appears in the corner.

* * *

"Hikaru!" Uta called out as she ran towards him, lifting a hand in the air to wave.

Fureyaa, or rather Hikaru, lifted his own hand in greeting, flashing Uta a toothy smile. "Hi, Uta~! I'm glad you decided to meet me after all!" His expression turned serious as he recalled earlier that day, how upset everyone had seemed. Especially Uta. "I was honestly afraid you wouldn't want anything to do with me after that...I wouldn't blame you if you didn't."

Uta hastily shook her head. "N - Nonono, please don't talk like that, Hikaru!" Her expression softened, and she looked down at the ground, her hand curled in a loose fist over her heart. "I...I've liked you for a while, Hikaru. You're not a bad person, I knew that since the day you protected me, the day Kotone became a Pretty Cure. You're not like your comrades, I know this...

"I just wish Kotone and the others could see it, too."

They were both silent for a moment, then Hikaru held his hand out, gently clasped Uta's own. He smiled at her again, but this time it was a close-mouthed, gentle smile instead of the usual cheeky grin he wore. "She will some day," he promised. But even he didn't quite believe it, or know when that day would come, if at all.

The two of them just shared a look, gripping each other's hands for comfort, solidarity. Hikaru was the first to make a move, gently squeezing the girl's hand and guiding her forward. "Well...c'mon. Let's get to the park, then! If we stay out here much longer someone will see us."

"Y-Yeah," Uta nodded in agreement, following Hikaru's lead.

* * *

Uta and Hikaru were walking through the park together, Hikaru looking around every which way and trying to take in as many sights as he could. He hadn't really had the chance to see a park, or much of nature, in the human world. So to him, this wasn't just a date, it was like sight-seeing. "U-Uwah, Uta, look!" he cried, tugging on her hand and pointing upward.

Uta followed his gaze and fingertip, and spotted a baby squirrel clinging to the branch above them. It stared right at Hikaru, twitched its ears a little, and then scurried off along the branch. Hikaru sighed in contentment, eyes sliding closed. "Awww, he was cute!"

As the pigtailed girl laughed and tugged her partner along the path again, a figure in a long coat and a wide-brimmed hat, sunglasses over their eyes, lurked behind a tree. They peered around it, watched the two of them leave. When the person pulled the oversized sunglasses down her nose, their eye-color made it obvious to anyone who looked close enough that it was Kotone.

Or rather, Cure Beat.

* * *

_"Drumming a new life's rhythm, Cure Beat!"_

_The light show ended, and Cure Beat stood at the gates of Atama Academy, a bag with the words "Drama Department"_

_stamped on it in her hands. She quickly opened the bag, pulled out just what she needed for a disguise._

* * *

_I'm sorry, Uta, for spying like this, _Beat thought, closing her eyes and shaking her head sadly. _But it's the only way I can guarantee your safety without making you hate me._

"A-Ah, oh no, stop!" Uta cried out, catching Beat's attention.

"Uta!" Beat ran out from behind the tree...and then stopped.

Uta wasn't in any danger. She stood under the same tree she had been, perfectly safe and fine. Hikaru wasn't even touching her, either. But both of them were staring at the baby squirrel from a few moments ago, now dangling by its tiny front paws on the branch directly above them. "Look out, baby squirrel!" Uta cried, hands over her mouth.

"I got it!" In a flash of light, and cape-swish that'd come from nowhere, Fureyaa stood in Hikaru's place, and jumped up to the branch above. He landed awkwardly, pinwheeling his arms as he crouched. But that only lasted half a second, as he grabbed onto the branch with one hand and, with the other, gently scooped the squirrel up and held it to his chest. "There we go..."

Beat watched in surprise as Fureyaa jumped back to the ground and shifted back to Hikaru. He smiled gently at the little creature before setting it on the ground and nudging it towards some bushes nearby. "Stay to the lower-hanging stuff, okay?" he smiled as the squirrel ran off.

Uta ran over to Hikaru, but Beat didn't hear any of what she said to him. She just stared. Fureyaa...a member of Mora did that? It was just a little squirrel, yes, but for an enemy to show kindness to something so insignificant...Beat closed her eyes again and sighed. Well, maybe...

The sound of Uta screaming made Beat's eyes snap open, and she lifted her head and ran out another few steps-  
-before stopping, yet again.

Uta stood at the edge of the lake, hands over her cheeks as she screamed - no...squealed in delight. "Those people are in swan boats!" she cried, pointing at them. And even from this distance Beat could note the similarity between this and Hikaru's own sudden squealing and pointing.

And speaking of Hikaru, his delight seemed to match Uta's. "Waaaah, that looks so fun! Hey, hey, Uta, can we go on those? Please please please?"

"Yeah, let's get on those boats!"

And Beat, forgetting she was supposed to be covert, let out a little scream. Luckily it went unheard as her "targets" were running off to find a boat. "W-Wait but I..." she moaned, one hand outstretched. Her sunglasses slid down her nose, a dismayed look on her face, which was now an interesting shade of blue. "I...don't swim."

* * *

"O-Okay, don't look at the water, Beat..." Beat muttered to herself. She sat in a swan boat now, curled up in a little ball as she covered her head. "Don't look at the water, don't think about the water...Don't think about how much deeper the water is here than the pool at school, don't think of it..."

She took a few deep, steadying breaths, and then began to move her boat to the other side of the lake. Where Uta and Hikaru were.

Atop a tree on the other side of the lake, Kemuri stood holding a Dream-Eating Crane. She stared directly at the lake dotted with swan boats. "Wah, those look so cute~" she sighed with a dreamy smile. Then her smile looked a bit more devious as she added "And I'm sure a Pretty Cure would think so too. So logically, the fifth Cure must have gone to look at the cute little boats! I'll bring her out with this then!" She shifted her hands on the paper crane, held it to her lips and blew gently. The black crane's wings started to flap, and it slowly and gracefully descended towards the lake.

Kemuri was left to watch it go, a thoughtful expression on her face. "I guess I do feel kinda bad for turning such a cute thing into a Bakuko," she admitted. "Eh, but that's the breaks!" That said, she vanished into the dark portal.

* * *

Hikaru and Uta sat across from each other in their boat, Hikaru looking over the side. "Hey, hey, Uta, think we'll see any fish?" he asked, unable to keep the excitement out of his tone.

Uta chuckled, but half-heartedly. "I don't know, Hikaru...the fish in these lakes don't usually-oh."

Just as she was saying that, one of the fish did swim to the surface, pausing just below it to stare at Hikaru. Hikaru's face broke out into a gleeful, open-mouthed grin. "Ah, hi fish!" he laughed. "Uta, come say hi to...Uta?" He finally noticed her expression: while it had once been happy, now her smile was a little hollow, her eyes suggesting she was lost in thought. "Hey, Uta...what's wrong?"

"Hm? O-Oh...it's nothing, I just..." She took a deep breath, sighed, and spoke up once more. "I was thinking...about Kotone. I'm not trying to think of her on our date, but it's just..." She looked over the side of the boat. "When we were little, I wanted o go on one of these with her. But she doesn't like water very much-she can't swim too well, you see. Never did well with deep water. So we never went. And being on a boat now, it just...it made me think of her, think of what happened this morning, I guess." Uta's gaze went to her hands in her lap, and she sighed again. "I guess...after this I'll talk to her. I don't like being angry with her for long, I can't be."

Hikaru smiled, nodded in understanding. "You won't even have to be." He reached over, placed both of his hands around hers. "She'll come around! And even if she doesn't, then she wouldn't ever be mad at you. It's my fault anyway." He laughed awkwardly before continuing. "After today, you two will be back to normal, just wait!"

Uta smiled as a shadow suddenly fell over them.

And the fish, which had been watching this whole event like a little aquatic spectator, suddenly darted back underwater. And someone else screamed.

"EEYAAAAAH!"

The couple broke apart, stared up in shock at the Bakuko standing on top of the water, not ten feet away from them. "A-A Bakuko?! Here?" Hikaru cried in alarm.

**"Bakuuuu!"**

Beat, who at this point had taken a slight break from rowing in order to catch her breath and not think about the lake some more, gasped and lifted her head. Without thinking of where she was, she stood up in the middle of her boat, staring at the Bakuko. It was made from another swan boat, this she could tell. It had no legs, but floated on the lake surface like the thing it was borne from. Its wings were spread out, flapping slowly but obviously powerful. The swan's painted eyes had morphed into angry yellow ones, its beak was open in a loud roar, and the familiar keyhole mark was on its forehead."BAKU-BAKUUU!" it screamed again.

The Bakuko flapped its wings once, and sent a great gust of wind out, pushing all the boats in front of it away. Civilians screamed as they held on tight, managing to not fall overboard.

"Kyahahahaha~!" Kemuri laughed, standing on the Bakuko's head. "Pretty Cure! Come out, come out, wherever you aaaare~" she sang.

"Kemuri!" Beat growled to herself. She looked down, to the boat that sat just in front of the Bakuko. "I bet Fureyaa is involved in this...

"Wait." Beat blinked in realization. Fureyaa was in that boat...and if he was there, then that meant- "UTA!" Beat screamed.

* * *

Uta and Hikaru stared up at the Bakuko in fright, Hikaru standing with his arms outstretched, trying to protect Uta.

"Uta...we've got to row away," he said, voice trembling slightly.

"B-But Hikaru-"

"It'll be okay, just...let's hurry before she makes it attack again!" he cried.

Uta could tell, by his voice and the slight trembling of his arms, that something was wrong. He wasn't going to transform; he wasn't going to face Kemuri or risk her finding out about his disguise. She didn't fault him for that, no, but she wondered...what exactly was going on with himself and the rest of Mora?

She swallowed, nodded. "O-Okay," she whispered.

But it was too late.

"Oh come on!" Kemuri stomped her foot in irritation. "Pretty Cure, you better come out right now or I'll make it really start hurting people! Starting..." She suddenly pointed straight at Uta and Hikaru's boat. "Those people!"

"Wha-!"

"Bakuko, get them!"

"Bakuuu!" The Bakuko lifted one wing, and brought it down with a shattering speed at the boat. Uta and Hikaru had little time to react; Uta screamed, Hikaru shouted her name and threw her down, his body over hers to protect her...

And the Bakuko couldn't move its wing.

"Baku?!" it squawked in surprise.

Cure Beat stood atop the head of the pair's boat, both hands firmly grasping the Bakuko's wing. Her hands only trembled slightly as she glared up at the monster, her teeth grit in anger.

"B-Beat!" Hikaru gasped.

"Kotone...?" Uta followed up.

Beat didn't seem to hear them. "Threatening innocents...threatening to hurt my sister and her date..._unforgivable!_" On the last word, she shifted her weight, tightened her grip on the Bakuko, and used her Cure strength to hurl it aside. The Bakuko screamed as it was sent hurtling towards the forest, away from the other boats. As for Kemuri, she yelped as she fell from the Bakuko's head and into the water.

Beat's legs wobbled slightly from where she stood, but she cast a quick look over her shoulder at Uta and Hikaru. "You two! Get to safety now! I'll take care of this-"

"B-beat, wait!" Uta cried. She pushed past Hikaru, staring up at her sister with tearful eyes. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't want to go behind your back about this, but I-I care about Hikaru, but I love you too! P-Please don't be angry at either of us!" She bit back a sob. "You're not mean! You're-"

"Uta." Beat smiled, tears collecting in her own eyes. "I-It's okay. I'm the one who shoul-GYAH!" She screamed as the Bakuko flew at her, shoving her right off the boat and sending her crashing, below the water, into an empty one.

"Beat!" Uta and Hikaru screamed.

"That's revenge for getting my monocle wet!" Kemuri fumed from one of the other boats. Said monocle was dangling from its chain, swinging idly back and forth instead of resting over her eye. "It'll take forever to get these gross lake germs off it! Bakuko, get her again, and make her suffer _threefold_ for _my monocle!_" she screamed, pointing again.

Beat struggled to pull herself onto the boat she'd been smacked into, gasping for air. She screamed again as the Bakuko charged the boat and knocked her back underwater.

"BEEAAAT!"

* * *

Water. Water everywhere. Where's the surface? Too deep, this is too deep, this isn't like the school pool where you can see the bottom, you can't see the bottom here. It's too cold, too cold, this isn't good water...

Beat flailed a little, eyes shut tight, muffled sound barely reaching her ears as she slowly sank.

* * *

"BEEEAAAT!" Uta screamed, struggling in Hikaru's arms, trying to get out of the boat and swim to her sister if need be.

"Beat! Beat, I'm coming! I'm coming to get you out of there, I'm coming!"

Kemuri just laughed. "W-Wow, this was too easy! I should've just drowned her or something ages ago!" she smirked, then cast her attention to Hikaru and Uta, since they were closest. "Hmmm, and if attacking cute little boats didn't draw the fifth Cure out..." She pointed at their boat. "Then maybe destroying one Cure and then attacking more civilians will! Bakuko, get that girl!"

* * *

_"Get that girl!"_

...Uta.

Beat's eyes snapped open, tranquil fury reflected in them.

* * *

"BAKUUU!" The Bakuko charged at their boat again, same tactic as last time-

-and with a mighty splash, Beat broke the surface of the water, leaping high into the air, and falling down towards the Bakuko's head. She fell with one foot out, aiming a powerful kick as she crashed onto it, driving its head below the surface. The resulting splash reached Kemuri's boat, drenching her once again.

"DON'T! TOUCH! MY! _SISTER_!" Beat roared in fury.

The Bakuko's cry of alarm was garbled by the water, but Beat didn't stop to hear it. She ran up its body, its elongated neck, leaping up when she reached the base to drive another powerful kick into the center of its back. This forced the Bakuko to rock back slightly, its head popping out of the water again. "B-Baku?!" it cried.

"You'll never! Touch my sister!" Beat screamed, spinning on her heel to face the monster's head. "Pretty Cure...Drumroll Anticipation!"

The attack hit the Bakuko directly on the keyhole mark. "B-Baku..." it murmured sleepily before slumping down, almost sinking into the water. The keyhole mark vanished, and in a flash of light, a cute little swan boat sat in the monster's place. Beat stood inside it, breathing heavily.

"W-Waaaaah!" Kemuri wailed, stomping her foot again. "You ruined my monocle, destroyed my monster, and got me all wet! W-Well, I won't forget this!" she shouted. "I'll find that fifth Cure and take my revenge on you, you wait and see!" Those words said, she vanished into the dark vortex.

* * *

After things had calmed down, and the civilians had slowly started to enjoy their boats again, a soaked Kotone sat opposite Hikaru and Uta, her head bowed. "L-Listen, I...I want to apologize to you both," she sighed. She looked up at them, expression pained. "I...I was just worried about you, Uta. And I didn't trust your judgement. I know I need to do better about that...a-and you've spent more time with Fureyaa-er, Hikaru, than I have so I guess if you say you know him, then you do. A - And...Hikaru, you protected her when Kemuri attacked. If you really did have an ulterior motive, you would have joined in. S - So...I'm sorry, guys." She looked back down, closed her eyes as a fear tears escaped. "I'm so sorry..."

Uta smiled, tears in her own eyes, and moved forward to embrace her twin. "I'm sorry too, Kotone...I should have tried to understand your viewpoint better, but instead I just blew you off...A - And I shouldn't have gone behind your back about this, even if I was right about Hikaru." She couldn't help laugh a little at that, Kotone couldn't either.

"You're not angry at me?" Kotone whispered. "You don't never want to see me again?"

"Why would I do that?" Uta asked, sounding genuinely confused.

_"Uta." Young Kotone stood in front of her sister, teddy bear in her hands. She'd managed to sew its arm back on, and tied it off with a bright pink ribbon to hide the clumsy stitches. Her hands were covered in little bandaids, but she didn't care._

_Uta stared, wide-eyed._

_"Please don't be mad at me," Kotone sniffled, but then gasped as Uta threw the bear to the ground...and hugged Kotone instead._

"We're sisters, Kotone...even if we fight, that'll never change, no matter what. B - Because..." Uta hiccuped a bit, tears flowing freely down her cheeks. "I love you!"

"U - Uta...I love you too!" Kotone sobbed, hugging her sister tightly.

"Awwww~" Hikaru sighed, hands over his cheeks, a cute blush on his face. "That's so sweet!"

Kotone sniffled, wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, and mock-glared at Hikaru. "H-Hey, you punk, you trying to make fun of me?"

"Who, me? No, no, no~"

"Hey, just 'cause your my sister's date doesn't mean I can't be harsh on you once in a while, ahaha!"

"Oh no, don't do that!"

* * *

Kemuri sneezed, shivering and wet in front of Nocturna.

The older girl sat in her usual place, a tired but curious expression on her face. "So you couldn't find her?"

"N - No, Lady Nocturna..."

Nocturna sighed, resting back and closing her eyes again. "Very well...we shall try again next time."

"Yes..." Kemuri made to leave.

"Oh, and Kemuri?"

"Uhm, yes, Lady Nocturna?" the girl asked.

There was a faint smile on the other girl's lips. "Do see Chuusha when you leave my room. I think she'll want to make sure you don't catch cold."

A loud "Oh, _noooooo!_" was heard all over Despair Horizon.

* * *

"Before I go..." Hikaru dug into his pocket. "I want to give you this."

The trio stood outside the gates of Atama Academy, at sunset. Kotone wore a light blanket around herself, Uta at her side with her hand on her shoulder. Both girls blinked in unison at Hikaru's words, a light "Eh?" escaping both their mouths.

"Here." Hikaru produced the Dream Charm, careefully pressing it into Kotone's hand. "I managed to take it when the others weren't looking...We've managed to find a few more Shards, so it's a little bigger than it was when we took it." He smiled apologetically. "I hope this helps in some way."

"Y-Yeah, it does!" Kotone said, surprised. She held the charm to her face, turning it this way and that. It really did look bigger... "Why're you giving me this, though? Is it just because you like my sister?"

"K - Kotone!"

"Ahaha, n- no..." Hikaru chuckled, scratching the side of his face. "It's because of...well, I'll tell you some other time, okay? This isn't the best day."

"Hey, wait a minute!" Kotone cried. "You can't leave me hanging!"

"I'll tell you another day, I promise!" Hikaru smiled, turned and ran off, waving as he looked over his shoulder. "Bye-bye, Uta~! Let's have a more peaceful date next time!"

Kotone sighed, hands on her hips. "Geez...Uta, you're my sister, and I love you, but you have weird taste in boys."

Uta just laughed. "Ah, Kotone..."

The girls held hands all this time, but now their grip tightened on each other.

* * *

**ED: "Lead Me There" - YUME featuring Mari**

* * *

**ON THE NEXT EPISODE:**

**Fumie:** "Another PreCure to find? Alright, leave it to us!"  
**Aoi:** "It's best to go to a place where lots of students are gathered at once...Ah, we can try to show the Drama Club is performing!"  
**Kotone:** "Hey, guys, don't they look a little weird to you?"  
**Kurako:** "Argh! How are we supposed to find our new teammate in this mess! Next time on Pretty Cure Bukatsudo Energetic: We're Not Witches, We are Maidens! Don't be late for next meeting!"


	15. Chapter 15

"Okay, everyone, the witch has to be dressed all in darks! She has to look different compared to the rest of the cast!"

"We ran out of black fabric, we used it all on the wicked queen!"

"That's fine, just make the witch wear dark green; it'll be fine!"

"Wow, they're really getting into it," Fumie noted. Everyone else nodded in agreement.

The girls had all been on their way to their classes and had stopped outside the auditorium when they'd heard the commotion. They stood in the doorway now, staring as the Drama Club ran and picked their way through a very maze of props, scenery, costumes, and each other. It was hard to believe they'd actually been planning this all week.

"Pretty elaborate this time, wouldn't you say so?" Kurako muttered as she folded her arms and tilted her head at the chaos.

"Well, they want everything to look perfect," another voice chimed in. Everyone started, and turned to see Uta, clad in rags and wearing a cute red-pink bandanna over her hair. She carried a tiara prop, a lovely thing with heart-shaped gems that almost looked real, all of them following the wavy, looping pattern that the silvery wiring made. Another diamond, set inside a red sculpted heart, dangling from a tiny silver chain in the center of the tiara. "For instance, this prop I'm holding! Isn't it pretty?" she asked with a gentle smile.

"Uwaaaah~" Kaana poked her head out of Fumie's bag, stared at the tiara with wide, sparkling eyes. "It's so pretty, Uta~ I love it! Oh but what're you doing here? I thought you were in that singing club?" she asked, with a tilt of her head.

"Oh, that's easy." Uta smiled, lowering the tiara. "The club I'm in is helping out! They need people to sing in the background-wordless vocals, I mean-and some of us singers are good actors too, so we can also be extras! And besides, with so many props and costumes, they need all the help they can get."

"Makes sense to me," Aoi said with a slight nod.

Before anyone could say more, one of the Drama Club members called out. "H-Hey, Uta! Bring that tiara over here!"

"Ah, coming! Bye, girls!" Uta waved as she turned and skipped off. The sunlight caught the diamond in the middle of the tiara, making it sparkle and gleam.

* * *

**OP: "Purikyua Club" - Bukatsudo Four**

* * *

In Despair Horizon, Nocturna sat in her throne, eyes closed as she leaned her head back. She looked much stronger, less injured, than before. It wouldn't be too much longer before she was able to do things on her own, not rely on her generals so much.

"Nocturna..."

Her eyes opened. But she didn't look surprised or angry now, she looked...resigned. "It's you again," she muttered.

"Ah, so you've grown used to me."

"What do you want?" she sighed, closing her eyes again.

"It's about the fifth Pretty Cure...You know, those girls increasing in number would be rather...problematic, shall we say, for you."

"Are you here to give me actual advice, or are you merely here to gloat and tell me what I already know?" Nocturna's voice had an undercurrent of annoyance. Her eyes shut a little more tightly, brows lowered slightly. "You have done nothing to aid me since you began speaking to me. You're rather useless, aren't you?" The only answer was an irritated hiss. "Don't worry about me, whoever you are. I promise you, my generals are already taking care of it." She smiled faintly. "Pretty Cure will not succeed this time around."

* * *

**TODAY'S EPISODE: We're Not Witches, We Are Maidens!**

* * *

Uta didn't come to class that morning. Kotone kept glancing at the empty seat, frowning lightly. She then bent over her notebook, quickly scribbled something, and tore off the corner of her paper. A few folds and passes under desks later, and the paper found its way to Fumie's desk.

Fumie opened the paper and glanced at the message. _'Uta's not here today. You think preparing for the show is that tough?'_ She looked around the room and noticed the other girls had received similar messages. While the teacher's back was turned, she quickly wrote out a reply.

'_It looks like it. I'm glad I'm not in the Drama Club!'_

_'It's lucky for us that clubs are taken so seriously...The teacher didn't even ask me where she was. I guess she already knew?'_

_'I feel horrible for leaving Uta all by herself!'_ was Kurako's contribution, written in red sparkly gel pen. Fumie bit back a giggle at the sight of a cutesy sad face with a bun in the corner. 'Sure, she's got the rest of those two clubs to help out, but we're her friends, right? We just left her!'

_'Uta understands. Hm, but even so-'_ Before Kotone could finish out her message, Kurako suddenly stood up, her hand in the air.

"Teacher!" she called.

"Hm? What is it, Miss Kanayama?" The teacher lowered her chalk, blinking in surprise that someone had actually spoken up in the middle of a math lecture.

Kurako's hand lowered, though she remained standing, her expression carefully neutral. "It has come to my attention that several clubs need extra hands to prepare for an event," she declared. "With a big heart like mine, I cannot simply sit back and leave them to fend for themselves, so I'll be helping them." Without another word, she bent and picked up her schoolbag, slung it over her shoulder, and speed-walked to the door. "I'll pick up the homework later!"

There was nothing but silence after the door closed again, the teachers and students just staring and blinking. Kotone's eye twitched a little as her pen dropped from her hand. 'Sheesh, Kurako, to put it that way...' She sighed as she saw Kurako peek back into the room through the window on the door. Well, Kurako might be on to something... "Teacher, I'll be going, too! My sister's in one of those clubs, and twins have to stay together."

"Er, me too!" Fumie stood up, shoving her papers into her bag.

"And meeee~!" cheered Mari as she did the same. "Bye-bye, Teacher!"

More silence descended upon the classroom as the door opened and shut one more time. After a few moments, the teacher heaved another, louder sigh. "Does anyone _else_ want to leave in the middle of dividing fractions?"

* * *

Uta stood in front of two other girls, a shocked look on her face. "What, really?" she asked, adjusting her grip on the cardboard tree. "You sure?"

"Yeah! Why not? You did pretty good last week," a brunette wearing a mouse-ear headband said, hands on her hips.

"W-Wow, ah..." Uta slowly smiled, a faint pink tinge appearing in her cheeks. "Thanks a-"

"Utaaaaaa~!"

The trio jumped, Uta nearly dropping the tree in the process, and turned their attention to the five girls who'd just entered the gym and were shrugging out of their backpacks. The one who had spoken was Mari, skipping in front of the group and waving her arm above her head. "Help has arrived, everyone~"

"Help? But they're not in either of our clubs..."

"Why would they help us?"

Uta just blinked, and then a slow smile spread across her face as she saw her friends and sister branching out and helping the others. Kurako knelt in front of a girl modelling a princess dress and pinched the fabric between her fingers, wrinkled her nose and started to make adjustments to the hem. Kotone found that some of the sheet music was out of order and proceeded to rearrange every single stack; Aoi helped a few girls lift some heavier pieces of scenery; Fumie began adding a few touches of paint to the trees, Mari hovering over her and passing her the colors she needed. "I think...I think we should let them, girls." Uta smiled at the two she was speaking to, passing the cardboard tree to Aoi as she came over. "They're here to help, and one should never refuse a few extra hands.

"Besides, with them helping us out, I'm sure we'll get done a lot faster!" she added, turning around and clapping her hands together. "Wait for me, everyone!" she laughed, jogging into the fray.

The other two students exchanged a brief look, a shrug, and then smiled as they followed her. "Hey, art club girl! Can you help us with the sky?"

* * *

"Look at this! Just look at this!" Kemuri shrieked, thrusting a piece of paper in Gachan's face.

The paper, as it turned out, was a flier advertising the small play being performed at Atama Academy. It featured the dates and showtimes in golden, curly writing, and a few cutesy drawings of a princess, a prince, and a witch. In the top corner it read "Free admission! See the play of dreams!"

"A play of dreams! That wretched place is performing a play about dreams solely to mock us!"

Gachan sighed quietly, calmly taking the paper from Kemuri's grasp and inspecting it at a more reasonable distance, his one visible eye half-lidded. "Kemuri, I highly doubt the humans' intent was truly to mock us," he sighed. "Although...perhaps it would be a good idea to investigate this. There may be a Dream Shard around there."

"Huh? Oh yeah, that too." Kemuri shrugged and plucked the paper from Gachan's hands, then glared at it. "But what really gets me going is that this is a performance...and I didn't get to audition!"

"...What."

"Well, they won't get the best of me!" Kemuri turned and stalked off, glaring intently at the paper all the while. "I'll go there myself! With Dream-Eating Cranes, lots of 'em! And they'll have to give a big part to me! You wait and see!" she shrieked once more before vanishing into the dark vortex.

Gachan just sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger.

* * *

"Whaaaaat? They asked you to be in the play?!"

"That's right!" Uta nodded cheerfully, gesturing with her spork. "I didn't tell you guys this, but I kinda-sorta auditioned for the part!"

It was lunchtime now, and all six girls were seated on the floor in a row, their backs against the wall. Uta smiled as she took another bite of salmon (courtesy of Aoi, of course). "So...so I got the part! Since it's a really small performance, not all the Drama Club is bothering with it; it's not as huge as the school play. This is just a...how to put it? Warm-up thing for next year's show? But everyone is putting a lot of work into it anyway."

"But I've never seen you rehearsing!" Kotone sputtered, lowering her can of juice.

Uta just giggled and winked. "That's because you're all too busy with Cure duties and doing fun stuff by yourselves! And I've been staying up late to rehearse while you sleep, Kotone~"

Kotone just went back to her meal, sulking and muttering something about 'your twin sister, yer supposed to tell me everything.'

"Don't worry, Kotone," Mari sighed, patting the other girl's shoulder. "I understand how you feel...aside from the occasional lunchtime, I'm excluded from fun things a lot too." She pouted and gave Fumie, who had frozen with her sandwich halfway to her mouth and a nervous look on her face, a sideways glance. "Even though I'm Fumie-tan's bestest friend forever..."

"A - Ah, I'm sorry, Mari!" Fumie began bowing her head over and over. "I promise, we'll spend more time together!"

"You're right about that."

"Like we used to, before this whole PreCure business! Like old times, just us!"

"Yup."

Fumie breathed a sigh of relief-

"And you can start by taking me on a date to the play," Mari smiled, taking a large bite of sandwich.

Fumie spat out her juice, spraying an annoyed Hisa.

"A date with Mari?" Hisa later muttered in irritation. "Fumie, you're supposed to be looking for Dream Shards, not going on dates with your roommate."

"I kinda owe it to her though, after we've spent so much time away from each other," Fumie replied, exiting the bathroom. She was wearing her fancy outfit from the last time she and the girls had seen one of the Drama Club's shows. At the moment she was taking a hairbrush to her slightly-damp hair, having just finished a shower before getting dressed. "I mean, cheerleading takes up a bit of her time, and then when she is free, something happens and I have to do Cure stuff. It's mean to not spend time with my best friend forever." She suddenly smiled, poked her tongue out. "Besides! Since Hikaru gave us back the Dream Charm, and since it looks bigger now, I'm sure I can take a break, right?"

"Well..." Hisa frowned, looked at the charm in the open desk drawer. Well, it was bigger...which of course meant a lot more Dream Shards had been found. "I suppose...But after this, you get right back to work, right?"

"You need to have more fun, Big Sister," Kaana chimed in.

"What was that?!"

"Okay, you two, cut it out," Fumie laughed awkwardly as she reached over the two fairies, taking the Dream Charm out of the drawer. She dropped it on her pocket, giving it a little pat afterwards as if to secure it. "I promise-after this date, we'll get back to being serious. Super-serious, okay?" Fumie checked the clock and gave a loud squeak of alarm. "Oh my gosh I'm gonna be late! See you guys later!" she called over her shoulder as she ran out the door...

...and stood backstage with the other girls, an expression somewhere between frustration and confusion on her face. "Why're we backstage?"

"And why's everyone else here on our date?" Mari pouted, arms folded over her chest.

"Don't worry, Mari, we'll be sitting a few rows away from you," Aoi consoled her, smiling. "We just wanted to wish Uta good l-"

Kotone suddenly whirled around, waving her hands in front of herself and whispering "Stop, stop, stooop!" When Aoi froze, mouth open mutely, she relaxed and went on. "It's bad luck to say that! You're supposed to say you want to tell her to break a leg."

"O-oh, I'm sorry." Aoi put her hand over her mouth. "I usually tell Kurako good-er, the other thing, so I didn't realize..."

"Then again, if anyone told me to break a leg, I'd think they were trying to sabotage me," Kurako deadpanned. "Oh, Uta! Break a leg out there!" she called out, waving her entire arm when the purple-haired girl came into view.

Uta smiled, clad in the same costume she'd been wearing earlier, and waved back. And then she smiled even brighter when Aoi wordlessly held up a wrapped bento, pointed to it with a smile on her own face. There'd be a good snack after the performance!

"Well, I guess that's it," Kurako murmured as the lights began to click on. "Let's get back to our seats..."

Unseen by all, Kemuri stood high above the stage, a Dream-Eating Crane in her hand. She watched the actors milling about on the stage below her, anxiously awaiting curtain-up. "Pffft...jerks, not letting me audition," she grumbled, conveniently forgetting the facts that she not only wasn't even a student, but hadn't known of the performance until today. "I'll show them! I'll make the biggest, worst Bakuko ever, and they'll have to beg me to call it off! But I'll only do that if they let me sing! Perfect plan~" She fell silent as she surveyed her surroundings. "Hm, but what should I make it out of-"

Just at that moment, the spotlights turned on, blinding Kemuri. The girl shrieked in alarm, releasing the Dream-Eating Crane as she lifted her hands to cover her eyes. As she flailed and tried to keep her balance, the crane flew upward, landing on the spotlight's bulb...

...Where it did not turn into a Bakuko, but actually burst into flames, then became black powder in the span of a mere split-second. The powder floated down to the actors on stage, and one by one their eyes became dulled, a faint black aura around them.

"Our dreams..." they all murmured angrily. Behind them, Kemuri landed with a loud crash into some of the background cut-outs.

* * *

The sound of the crash caught everyone's attention more than the fact that the lights were down did. "What was that?" Kurako asked, blinking in shock.

"You don't suppose Uta got hurt, do you?" Aoi followed up, a hand going over her mouth in distress. "Oh no, which one of you said 'good luck?'"

"Hey, don't look at me!"

The curtain parted just then...and they saw Kemuri, who had somehow ended up clad in the witch's dark green cloak and hood, struggling to her feet, wincing a bit. "Owwwwowowowow," she whined, rubbing her lower back. "That hurt!...Huh?" She stared out at the audience, blinking in confusion. Oh...oh whoops.

"It's Kemuri!" Kurako hissed, suddenly rising to her feet. "What's she up to now?"

"The witch!" one of the performers, a boy dressed as a knight, shouted, pointing at her. "The witch, Majorin, who stole all our dreams!"

"Huh?!" both Kemuri and Pretty Cure cried.

"I'm supposed to save the princess from the tower and best her wicked stepmother!" shouted a dark-haired girl dressed in princely clothes, stomping her foot and dashing away tears. "B-But I can't now! I can't find the tower, as if it's vanished!"

"I wanted to go to the ball!" sobbed another girl as she covered her face. "But you've taken my fairy godmother and hid her away! I'll never get to have a night as a normal girl!"

"I'm supposed to beat the dragon!"

"To be the best tailor in the world!"

"To save my brother!"

Up in the audience, the girls looked at each other with both confusion, and slow dawning realization. "They're...they're so into their roles that the dreams taken from them...are the characters' dreams, not the actors'!" Fumie gasped.

"So what'll we do?" Kotone asked, leaning forward with a frown.

In the middle, Mari looked back and forth between her friends, a look of alarm on her face. "H-hey...hey wait a minute, guys-"

"If that's how it is, then we'll have to play their game!" Fumie declared, as she stood up. "I'm sorry, Mari-we'll all be back as soon as we can!" she bowed to Mari, an apologetic look on her face, then turned and ran with the others down the row, making for the door. Leaving Mari to sit surrounded by empty seats as she watched them go.

"B-But I..." she said feebly, lifting a hand as if to call them all back. Her expression faltered, eyes shining a bit as she slowly lowered her hand, bit at her lower lip. "I..."

* * *

_Eyecatch 1: Fumie stands at an easel, tongue poking out slightly as she carefully dabs some paint onto the canvas. Satisfied, she steps back and spins the easel around to reveal a watercolor of Cure Ink, the PCBE logo where a signature should be._  
_Eyecatch 2: Kurako, Aoi, Kotone, Mari, Uta, Kaana and Hisa all sit down on the floor, watching Fumie. Fumie stands at a podium and bangs a rubber gavel, calling the club meeting to order. The PCBE logo appears in the corner._

* * *

**"Pretty Cure! Show my future!"**  
**"Painting the world with new tints, Cure Ink!"**  
**"Spinning with grace and strength, Cure Twirl!"**  
**"Adding flavor and zest to life, Cure Spice!"**  
**"Drumming a new life's rhythm, Cure Beat!"**

The girls struck their poses, standing backstage. "Protecting everyone's dreams, Pretty Cure Bukatsudo Energetic!"

"...So now what?" Beat muttered. "We can't just run onto the stage...or can we?" Her eyes widened, a gleeful look on her face as she moved to run onto the stage. Spice calmly put her hand out to grab at her sleeve before she got too far.

"Kemuri hasn't done much of anything yet. Honestly, aside from infecting the whole play with a Dream-Eating Crane, she's done nothing at all," Twirl pointed out.

Beat stomped her foot. "So what'll we do? Ink sounded like she had an idea, right?"

"I do."

Everyone turned around in time to have various cloth tossed at their faces. Ink smiled impishly as she replaced her usual beret with a hat that wouldn't look out of place on Peter Pan. "Follow my lead."

* * *

"H-hey, wait a sec, I'm no witch!" Kemuri cried, backing up and waving her hands in front of herself. "I am no witch, I'm supposed to be the princess here!" She stomped her foot, her panicked expression slowly giving way to a pout. "I'm supposed to be the princess, not the witch! Gah, this isn't going how I wanted at all!"

That said, she reached into one of her oversized sleeves, pulled out a second Dream-Eating Crane. "Tch! I didn't wanna have to use two at once, but if it'll make all you idiots back off-!"

"Halt, witch!"

The lights went out again, and a second later, four spotlights - blue, red, green, and purple - shone down on a quartet off frilled girls. Pretty Cure stood atop a balcony, staring down at the crowd, and Kemuri. Cure Ink adjusted her hat, grinning cheerfully as she spoke again. "The wicked witch has stolen the dreams of the kingdom! We four princesses," she struck a pose, with one arm held up in the air and the other at her side with her hand out just so, "shall save you all!"

In the audience, people were beginning to whisper. "This is the oddest play they've done yet."

"Maybe it's improv? The witch didn't seem to know what she was doing."

"Well, this is the Drama Club, though...Let's wait and see, I guess?"

Ink just held her pose a bit longer, her smile starting to look forced. Hm, the Drama Club below them didn't seem cheered or reassured at all. Actually, they were glaring at Pretty Cure now, too...

"Ink?" Twirl deadpanned as she adjusted the tiara around her bun. "I don't think this will work."

"Er - we princesses will-!"

"You're not my princess!" one of the knights yelled, waving his sword comically at the girls.

"My princess has hair hundreds of feet long!"

"I don't even have a princess!"

As one, the actors pointed at Pretty Cure, identical looks of hate on their faces. "You're in league with the wicked witch, Majorin!" they shouted.

"Whoa, heyheyhey!" Ink sputtered, waving her hands frantically in front of herself. "Let's not be hasty, we just-"

"Yeah, something tells me this won't work," Beat muttered, doffing her elf cap and leaping onto the stage. "So let's try the old-fashioned way!" she shouted, racing directly for Kemuri.

"You-!" Kemuri snarled and threw her hand out. Brilliant magenta smoke filled the stage, making actors and Cures alike begin coughing. But Kemuri was unaffected, breathing normally - of course she'd be unaffected by her iown/i magic attacks. She vanished in a puff of more smoke, only to reappear directly behind Cure Beat. Before Beat could react, Kemuri delivered a powerful kick to the girl's mid-back, and Beat was sent flying across the stage and into a wooden castle.

"Cure Beat!" Spice screamed, jumping down herself.

Kemuri glared, hands clenched into tight fists. One could see the veins popping against her skin if they looked close enough, she was so angry. "First you mock my dream of being an actress," she snarled, heedless of the glares she was getting from the others on the stage, the confused looks from the audience. "Then you have a show without me, then my Dream-Eating Crane is ruined, and now you upstage me like this!" She reached into the costume once more, and as the smoke finally began to clear, the Cures saw her produce a second Dream-Eating Crane. "Well, you won't do it again, you horrible, no-talent brats!"

With those words, she let loose a savage shriek and flung the crane at one of the castles. It grew three times its size, yellow eyes on a turret, brick-like legs sprouted from its bottom, and the flags had expanded and were curled like two fists. **"BAKUUUUU!"**

* * *

A door opened backstage and Uta came in, clad in her Cinderella costume again. In her hands she held the tiara at chest-level, but she wasn't paying attention to that. "Wasn't I supposed to get my cue by now?" she mumbled, eyebrows knitted.

A loud scream made her jump and nearly drop the tiara. "Th-that sounded like Aoi!" She ran for the stage, skidding to a halt just inside it, and stared. The castle-themed Bakuko had snatched up Cure Spice in one of its flag-arms, and suddenly flung her past Uta. The pink-haired Cure crashed into some props backstage, screaming in pain and fear all the while.

"Spice!" Twirl screamed, racing after her. She then screamed for another reason as the Bakuko swatted at her with another flag, sending her after her friend.

Uta stood there, trembling in fright, as Kemuri laughed obnoxiously. "See what happens to people who take my dreams away from me!" she declared. "This is what happens to everyone who gets in our way, everyone who would dare to stand against Lady Nocturna!" The Bakuko continued to beat people aside-Pretty Cure and actor alike. And Kemuri just laughed, breathing heavily, hair disheveled, her expression looking more deranged.

Uta couldn't stand for this. Especially not when Beat charged at the Bakuko with a loud roar, only to be pinned down by a flag. It wrapped around her tightly, almost like a snake, and Beat let out a hoarse cry as it began to squeeze.

"Stop...STOP IT!" Uta cried, running onto the stage. The Bakuko actually seemed to listen for a second, as if shocked that someone else would dare to interrupt. The pigtailed girl pulled on the flag-arm holding Beat, the tiara tossed, forgotten, on the stage floor. "Stop it, Kemuri! Leave them all alone, stop it!"

"Who are you to give me orders?!" Kemuri found her voice again, glowered at the newcomer. "Don't think because you're a civilian I'll let you get away with this!"

Uta managed to free Beat just then, and paused in helping her sister to her feet. "'This...?'"

_"I_ should be a princess, not you!" Kemuri screamed again. She was still breathing heavily, but now her hand was tightly gripping the area over her heart. From her position on the floor, where she'd landed after the Bakuko had smacked her around as well, Ink gasped. She knew that pose... "I should have had the chance to audition! I should be a princess in a performance, not an ugly witch! You and stupid Pretty Cure took my dream away, you're ruining Lady Nocturna's dream, and you'll all pay for it! And to start..." She pushed forward, running for the tiara. "I'll start by becoming a princess and destroying you~!"

The tiara...

A diamond charm in the center...

Diamond...charm...dreams...

Ink's eyes widened, and without hesitation, she reached into her skirts, got off the floor, ran forward... _**"STOP!"**_ she screamed. Her hand shot out, the partially-assembled Dream Charm between her fingers. She too ran for the tiara, reaching it at the same time as Kemuri.

Kemuri let out a loud, strangled cry of pain as her fingers brushed both diamonds. The diamonds both glowed, and the one inside the tiara shot away and fused the Charm in Ink's fingers.

Then, as if this extra piece had made the Dream Charm more powerful, a white ripple pulsed around the room, and then a shimmering dome erupted from the charm and covered the whole stage. The actors, some of whom were on the floor groaning in pain, some of whom still tried to attack the Bakuko and/or Kemuri, relaxed. Peaceful looks appeared on their faces as they slowly sank to the floor. "...our dreams are still..."

"With us..."

"We can't give up..."

Exhausted, the actors fell unconscious.

Kemuri and the Bakuko, meanwhile, were in obvious pain. Kemuri stumbled backwards into the now dizzy-looking Bakuko, breathing heavily with her hands over her heart. "I-It hurts...! What have you done, Pretty Cure, what have you _done?!"_

Ink rose to her feet, the Dream Charm held in front of her between her pointer and middle finger. "Whatever you think has happened, Kemuri, we won't let you hurt others! We won't let you attack people in the name of your own dreams; that's wrong and you should know it!"

"Cure Ink is right!" This wasn't any of Pretty Cure. It was Uta. The girl stood up again, the tiara in her hands once more as she faced off with both monster and girl. "Dreams shouldn't cause others to hurt; you can't keep doing this! There are better ways, Kemuri, I promise you! A-And I would gladly have allowed you to try for our play if I'd known you wanted to take part!"

Beat side-eyed her sister. "...really, Uta?" she muttered.

"Shut up! Bakuko, get them now! Starting with the fake, ragged princess there!" Kemuri pointed, with difficulty, at Uta.

**"Bakuuu!**" The Bakuko shot a flag out for her-

"We princesses will not allow this!" A blast of red and yellow energy fired out, smacking the arm off-course. At the other end of the stage stood Twirl and Spice, their hands raised in front of themselves. "The Pretty Cure princesses..."

"Will stop you, Witch Majorin!" Spice finished. She held back a small laugh. "Oh, my, now I understand why Ink wanted to do it this way..."

_"Pretty Cure...Color Splash!"_ Ink sent her attack at the Bakuko while it was distracted. The Bakuko shrieked in pain at first, but its cries rapidly grew softer, and it sounded sleepy. With a bright glow, it turned back into the background piece it had always been.

Ink lowered her arms and took a step towards Kemuri. "Kemuri...you said we took your dreams away. Yours and Nocturna's...tell us what's wrong. I think there's more to this than you're telling us, so please-"

"Shut up," Kemuri grunted angrily. She leaned against the castle, still trying to catch her breath. That horrible Dream Charm was agony... "You beat me this time...But you wait; you won't get far with only four-fifths of your team. We'll take you down before you can complete yourselves, we'll get rid of you all, and all your dreams will belong to Lady Nocturna and all of Mora!" With that, she vanished into the portal.

Pretty Cure just stared, her words ringing in their ears. Not just about the dreams, either, but... "Four-fifths?" Beat echoed.

Clap.

Clap. Clap. Clap.

Clapclapclapclapclapclap-

The girls all jumped, turned to face the audience and turned bright red. Everyone in the audience was clapping loudly, wildly, big grins on their faces.

"I didn't get it near the end, but that was so cool!"

"The Drama Club outdid themselves with the special effects!"

"Ending was kinda cliffhanger, but you think they did this on purpose?"

"Take a bow, take a bow!"

Sitting in her seat, only Mari was not clapping, even when Ink laughed and rubbed the back of her head and had to be dragged off by Twirl before she could start to bow.

* * *

**ED: "Lead Me There" - YUME featuring Mari **

* * *

**ON THE NEXT EPISODE:**  
**Fumie:** "This is bad, this is really bad. The Dream Charm has a new effect, and we seem to be stronger, but Chuusha's stronger too!"  
**Aoi:** "What has she done to the Bakuko?!"  
**Hisa:** "That's it, girls; the fifth Cure must be found _now!_ Five is stronger than four!"  
**Fumie:** "But who is she?"  
**Kaana:** "Next time on Pretty Cure Bukatsudo Energetic: "She Must Be Found! The Fifth Cure Is..." Don't be late for next meeting!"  
**?:** "I won't let you hurt my friends again..."


	16. Chapter 16

_A void of darkness, constantly shifting blacks and purples. Deathly silence, cold air all around. No normal person would last a minute in this place. But the people there weren't normal people..._

_Despite that, the previous Pretty Cure weren't to last long anyway._

_A girl in orange screamed in agony, a cry that was cut short as a wave of darkness washed over her, leaving nothing left. Another girl, one in purple with long lilac hair, skidded to a halt next to the spot where the other had laid. "Cure-!" she screamed, reaching a hand out for the nothingness._

_"Honoria!" someone else screamed. The purple Cure whipped her head around, her face dark and hidden in the shadows. Only the barest light was shown on her, and even that extended only to her outlines; a little bit of color on her skirts, a faint highlight to her hair. The rest of her was entirely shadowed. The girl who called out this Cure's name reached for her, her free arm wrapped around another Cure who was rapidly losing consciousness. "Cure Honoria, please-!"_

_The darkness shot for them just as Honoria flew at them, rapid-speed. "NO!" she screamed, arms out as if to embrace them. But the darkness got their first, wrapping around both girls. Their screams of agony and terror rang through the air even after they were cut short, the darkness vanishing._

_Now there were only a few left. Honoria ran for her too, keeping her eyes on the large mass of darkness in front of her. She could see the form of a girl standing in the center, a wicked grin on her face as she observed the Cure's movements. A sphere for light purple light appeared in Honoria's palm as she aimed for the form. "Pretty Cure Honor-"_

_"I don't think so..." came a cold voice. A wave of darkness hit Honoria just then, yet she was spared the erasure that her team had suffered. Instead, she was ensnared in it, screaming and struggling as she felt the burning cold seep into her very being. "I don't think I want you to die just yet..." More darkness wrapped around her head, save for her face, and it solidified around her, forcing her to face forward. She gasped as her eyes opened on their own accord, and found herself staring directly at the weak and trembling form of her teammate, the few people who had come to aid the Cures lying on the ground behind her. "You dared to challenge me, Pretty Cure!" the voice continued. "Now watch as I destroy the ones you hold dear!"_

_"No...No, stop it! Stop it, take me instead! It was my idea to do this, it was all mine! Stop! STOP IT, PLEASE!" Honoria thrashed and struggled in the darkness, but it only tightened its grip. Her eyes went wide as another wave was sent out at the last figures, her own loud, blood-curling screams mingling with their own dying cries. "STOP IIIIIIIT-!"_

Ayumu gasped, startling. She glanced around her surroundings, a hand over her heart. She wasn't in that void...she was in the school, sitting on the desk of an empty classroom. It wasn't wholly dark, either-the faintest rays of sunrise were peeking in through the windows, bathing everything in a sort of grayish light. She was safe, she was fine, she was...

The ghost frowned, hands going to her head. "I...But what _was_ that?" she whispered.

* * *

**OP: "Purikyua Club" - Bukatsudo Four**

* * *

In Despair Horizon, things were a bit out of ordinary too.

"Now hold still," Chuusha grumbled as she held Kemuri's bare arm. "This won't hurt but it's gotta be precise."  
Okay, but some things were the same, evidently.

The already-weakened Kemuri yowled as Chuusha shoved one of her special needles into her skin. It didn't pierce the skin like a normal needle, and there was no blood, but rather it seemed to dissolve into her as Chuusha pressed it down, but it still hurt like nothing else. "You s-said it wouldn't hurt, you liar!" Kemuri snapped angrily, yanking her arm away from Chuusha and holding it to her chest.

The white-haired woman raised her brows at the outburst and folded her arms over her ample chest. "It _didn'_t hurt. You're just a pathetic drama queen." Her lips curved into a thin, wry smile. "Like the other day, with that performance you were talking about? Gachan told me all about your little tantrum; sometimes I wonder why he lets you get away with this stuff..."

Kemuri snarled at the mention of the play. Her chest throbbed in pain as she recalled the dome, that awful white light that washed over everything and amplified the pain, reminded her of what she couldn't and didn't have. She reached up to grab at her chest again, shivering briefly in phantom pain. "You weren't there," she repeated coldly. "You didn't see...you didn't _feel_ that..."

"Excuses." Chuusha clicked her tongue, glaring darkly at Kemuri as she took a step forward. "Kemuri, I don't know if you're entirely aware of this, but Lady Nocturna's dream is inches from our grasp, and those Pretty Cure brats are the only things in the way."

"I know all about-" Kemuri began angrily, but Chuusha went on, speaking loudly over her, her own colder eyes locked with Kemuri's.

"Pretty Cure is ruining Lady Nocturna's vision, ruining our lives, and you and Fureyaa, wherever he is, are just sitting by and letting them get away with everything. You can't even made a half-decent Bakuko - for God's sakes, a civilian took down one of yours!" Chuusha lifted a fist in anger, made to strike Kemuri, when a sudden cough grabbed her attention.

Both ladies turned to see Gachan standing half in the shadows, what little of his face to be seen unreadable. "Chuusha. Lady Nocturna requires your aid again."

* * *

**TODAY'S EPISODE:** She Must Be Found! The Fifth Cure Is...

* * *

"Five. Four-fifths."

Kurako paused in her pacing in front of Fumie's nightstand, casting a glance at the two snakes and plush between them. She frowned, looking like someone who was trying to solve a mangled Rubix Cube as she tapped her lower lip. "Kemuri said that. And earlier...earlier you mentioned you had sent out five emails, five ways for a Cure to awaken."

Kaana and Hisa nodded. "That's right."

"So basically...all we know is we're missing a teammate." Fumie frowned herself. Then she groaned, exhaling loudly. "And that's _all_ we know!" she cried, falling backwards and landing on the bed.

The Cures were having yet another meeting in Fumie and Mari's room, and it was pretty clear what they were discussing. The only problem was that they had exceedingly minimal knowledge about the subject, and no leads. It was a bit hard to discuss a fifth teammate when all one knows is that she or he exists.

"Sheesh, at least in magical girl shows like _Hearty Pure_, there's some villain on the path to redemption," Kurako griped, rubbing one of her temples. "Or a new fairy appears, or there's a new transfer student or something."

There was a brief pause. "You watch _Hearty Pure_?" Kotone asked.

"Since I was a little kid! It makes for decent enough research material too," Kurako said. Fumie took note of the fact that Kurako didn't think to deny it, as she had denied liking _Good Morning, Kitty-Cat_. "And...we've had nothing like that."

"Well, sadly, that's an anime and this is reality," Hisa sighed. "Not everything is so...laid-out and obvious. That email could have gone to _anyone."_

"Not anyone!" Kaana piped up, briefly startling her older sister. Kaana's expression was hard, determined, and looking extremely out-of-place on such a cute and young snake fairy. "Pretty Cure have always been girls who possess strong hearts, good hearts, the desire to help others and be happy. Any girl can become a Cure, but not just _anyone_ will fit the bill at _any time_. Er, right?" she added, blushing pink.

Aoi slowly nodded. "I think it makes perfect sense, Kaana," she said, sending her a gentle smile. That smile slowly melted into a concerned look, her brows furrowed slightly. "But I also agree with Hisa...The next Cure could be anyone, anywhere...We wouldn't know where to begin looking."

"Well, we could always start here." Kotone leaned forward a little from her spot next to Fumie, swinging her legs back and forth. "I mean, we were all here, right? And there's...tons of...students." She groaned loudly, hanging her head as she realized what exactly she'd said. "Ugh, why can't our fifth teammate just _walk in through the door?!"_

Suddenly, the door opened, and everyone looked towards it as Mari stepped in, shrugging her duffel bag off her shoulder. "I'm back from cheer practice!" she chimed. Noticing how oddly-quiet it was, Mari paused in her movements, looking around the group with a blank expression and a quiet 'eh?' "Hey, what's up, everyone? What's with the staring?"

* * *

Outside the school, in the small forest area just beyond the fence around the courtyard, Ayumu sat in the branches of a tree. She didn't notice it, but this was nearly the same place where she'd met Chuusha, where she'd taken the Dream Shard from her without fully understanding how she'd done it. She sat with her feet dangling over the branch she was on, sighing wistfully as she stared downwards, eyes half-hidden.

_"It was all my idea! Leave them alone!"_

Ayumu winced as the memory of the dream returned to her, lifting a hand to the side of her head. It was strange, she'd never dreamed before, not really. Being a ghost, she didn't need to sleep, so dreams were out of the question. She just sort of...sat there and lost herself until the sun rose and activity returned to the world. But the night before, she'd 'turned off' and...it had just come to her. Out of the blue. There had to be a reason why.

_What was different last night? What happened last night?_ Well...

* * *

_Ink dove for the tiara, the Dream Charm in her grasp. As she reached her goal, the diamonds both glowed, and the one inside the tiara shot away and fused with the Charm in Ink's fingers._

_Then, as if this extra piece had made the Dream Charm more powerful, a white ripple pulsed around the room, and then a shimmering dome erupted from the charm and covered the whole stage._

_And Ayumu hovered high above, unseen by all, her eyes wide in astonishment as she moved her bangs aside._

* * *

"The Dream Charm..." she whispered. Maybe that'd been it...It would make sense, after all; it'd apparently gained power with that one extra piece.

Ayumu stood on the branch she was on, stepped off and gently floated to the ground. She'd have to ask Pretty Cure about this. Maybe they knew more than she did, maybe they didn't, but it was still worth a shot.

In an odd turn of events, however, Uta had opted to take a shortcut through the forest area on her way back from a shopping trip. The pigtailed girl giggled to herself as she jogged up the hill, shopping bags jostling slightly. "Everyone will be so happy with the things I bought them!" she whispered to herself, hugging one particular bag closer to herself. A little dress for Himemiya, and something nice for Pretty Cure! She couldn't wait to see their faces!

"Eh?" She blinked, slowing to a walk as she neared the fence around the school and saw...a glowing girl? "Miss?"

Ayumu gasped quietly, whirling around and wringing her hands as her bangs shadowed her eyes. "P-Please don't scream!"

But Uta only stared in curiosity. "A-Ah...so the rumors were true?" she asked, nonchalant.

"...eh?"

* * *

"The fifth Cure?" Mari echoed, sitting on the bed next to Kotone's still-prone body. "I heard Kemuri say something about that during the show! ...which you so rudely left me behind at," she added with a pout.

Fumie winced.

"Listen, Mari, I'm sorry but there are much more pressing matters at hand than being stood up on a date!" Hisa snapped, ignoring Fumie's frantic protests. "The fact of the matter is that there's another girl who can help Pretty Cure, who could really help turn things around, and we've no idea where she is!"

"But I do think Kotone had the right idea," Aoi chimed in, adjusting her glasses. "The school is the best place to start...and I think we know who to start with," she added with a smile.

"Yup!" Everyone smiled and nodded.

"Hibiki!"  
"Kenda!"

Everyone fell silent, stared at each other. Okay, maybe it _wouldn't_ be so easy...

* * *

In the end, they started with Kenda.

Kurako stood outside the doors to the pool, drawing in a deep breath as her cheeks tinted bright pink. To face Kenda again, interrupt her precious practice time, especially at a time like this..._I can do this. I can do this._ She exhaled deeply, turned to look over her shoulder.

Pretty Cure, the fairies, and Mari stood around the corner, leaning out precariously. Fumie grinned and gave Kurako a thumbs-up from her position up front. Kurako weakly returned it before turning back to the doors and pushing them open.

Kenda was climbing out of the pool just as Kurako walked in. The girl looked up, lifted her goggled to her forehead, and smiled. "Ah! Good afternoon, Kurako! Have you perhaps come to see my practice routine? I am afraid I have already finished for the day, my apologies."

"Er-no, it isn't that, Kenda." Kurako drew in a deep breath. "Have you gotten an email?"

There was a brief silence as the two stared at each other. Kurako turned her head to hide her embarrassment, screwing her eyes shut tightly. _Gah, stupid! There were better ways than that!_ She hastily turned back, adopting a more neutral face as she spoke again. "I mean-have you gotten an email with a weird attachment?"

"A weird...attachment?" Kenda echoed.

_Even worse!_ Kurako bowed suddenly. "I-I'm sorry! Never mind, Kenda, good luck practicing!" That said, she hastily turned and bolted for the doors, leaving them swinging back and forth in her wake.

Kenda just blinked, tilted her head as she adjusted her goggles. "I wonder what her problem is?" she muttered to herself in English.

* * *

"This isn't good," Chuusha murmured, withdrawing from Nocturna. She stared at her mistress, brow furrowed in...concern? Shockingly, even her voice reflected this same feeling. She folded her arms as she observed Noctura, the girl breathing heavily, sweat beading on her forehead as dark shadows were under her eyes. "I don't understand, Lady Nocturna!" she added, coming close again and pressing her hand to the girl's forehead while feeling her own with the other hand. "You were doing so well earlier; how could this have changed?"

"It's fine, Chuusha," Nocturna mumbled as she opened her eyes. "Gachan was over-reacting...I have simply not been sleeping well as of late. I'm fine, you needn't concern yourself over me today."

"But Lady Nocturna-!"

Nocturna looked at Chuusha, giving her a joyless smile. "I'll be alright, don't worry. All I want you to do for me now...is get more Dream Shards. Get the shards, destroy Pretty Cure - don't let them find the fifth."

Chuusha stared mutely for a moment before she bowed deeply. "As you wish."

Uta and Ayumu had sat in a small clearing, propped against a larger tree trunk. Ayumu stared at her lap, twisting her hands in it nervously. Uta just smiled gently. "Ah, I see - you recognized me from the show! That was really weird, wasn't it?" she laughed nervously, scratching the side of her face. "But I guess in the end it turned out alright."

Ayumu nodded, then risked a glance at Uta. "M-Miss...why are you not screaming?"

"Eh?"

"Pretty Cure screamed when they first saw me...And I've heard all sorts of horrible stories going around about me...Why aren't you afraid?"

"Oh..." Uta leaned back further, looking skyward. "Hm...I guess it's because I'm used to such strange things by now, so a glowing ghost girl doesn't bother me too much? After all, my sister is a transforming magical warrior, I'm dating a boy with a keyhole on his chest, my friends are mentored by talking snakes, and I've seen my fair share of monsters. So this isn't that big a thing in comparison! E-Er, not that you're not a big deal, I mean," Uta added hastily, blushing and waving a hand in front of herself, looking as if she'd comitted a horrid faux pas.

But to her surprise, Ayumu simply lifted a hand to her mouth and giggled faintly. Uta slowly lowered her hand as Ayumu looked back at her, a gentle but sad smile on her face. "I see now...I'm glad I'm not as bad as a monster, at least."

"Y-Yeah, there's that..." Uta laughed. "You know, you're really not scary at all. I don't know why people were talking about you like that." She blinked and looked around her surroundings, as if just now realizing where she was. "Say, if you're supposed to be the ghost of the school, why are you in the area _around_ it?"

"Well, y'see..."

* * *

_She was calmer now, after taking a few deep, unneeded breaths. It was over. Just a dream._

_Ayumu sighed, prepared to settle herself on the desk again, when she felt it. That strange, now-familiar pull. The one that had led her to play interrupted by Kemuri._

_A Dream Shard was near. And if she found the Dream Shard, she'd find...what? She didn't know just yet, but it could only be good._

* * *

"...oh."

Ayumu nodded mutely.

Uta looked around again. "W-Well, I'm not sure where the Shard is but-"

"I bet _I_ can tell where it is..."

Uta and Ayumu leaped to their feet, staring in shock as Chuusha suddenly entered the clearing. The white-haired woman smiled wickedly, tilting her head. "Lucky me, I come here looking for Dream Shards, but look at who I see instead..." Her smile quickly morphed into a sneer.

Ayumu whimpered faintly, drawing back.

"_You!"_ Chuusha growled. "You're the one who stole the last shard from me! You're the one who humiliated me!" The wicked smile came back. "Well...I didn't think I'd need to use this just yet, but since you're here, and I do believe I ought to get even with you..." She held up her hand, flicked, and a Dream-Eating Crane appeared between her fingers.

* * *

"Okay, so Kenda was a no-go," Kotone said as they moved down the hallway. Kurako kept her head down, cheeks burning as she refused to look anyone in the eye. Next to her, Aoi smiled awkwardly and patted her shoulder.

"There, there, Kurako...It's alright, it was worth a try at the least."

Fumie sighed a little, pulling out her PreCure PC. "I wish these things had some sorta tracker on them. _Princess Moon_ had one..."

"I don't think Princess Moon could use it to find teammates, Fumie-tan," Mari laughed.

This whole time there had been a quiet sound, gradually growing louder as they all walked. As the group turned a corner, they stopped, actually listening. It was someone singing; the empty corridor rang with the person's voice, and even Hisa seemed briefly mesmerized. "It's an aria," she mumbled.

"It's pretty! I love it!" Kaana whispered, not wanting to disturb the sound too much.

"I think it's coming from the music room..." Kotone moved forward, quietly opening the door and pushing it open.

Sure enough, in the music room sat Hibiki at the piano, softly playing a tune and singing along. Her eyes were closed, so she didn't see that she had an audience - a spellbound audience. Not only was the song beautiful, but the light filtering in through the window hit her body just so, making her look haloed in a soft yellow light.

She looked lovely, they all decided right then.

When Hibiki's fingers made the last stroke at the keyboard and the last note left her mouth, she leaned back, inhaling deeply through her nose, a peaceful look on her face. The sound of clapping startled her, and she nearly fell off the bench, yelping in alarm. When she looked towards the door, she saw Fumie and Mari standing at the head of the group, clapping enthusiastically. "A-Ah, I didn't know I had an audience..." she chuckled nervously.

"Hey, I see your voice recovered nicely, Hibiki!" Kotone smiled as she peered over Fumie's shoulder. "No more sore throats then?"

"Well, sometimes they crop up, but that's the trouble you have to face when you're a singer, right?" Hibiki laughed, pushing herself off the bench and approaching the group. "A sore throat, a bit of laryngitis once in a while, it's no big deal. I can stil sing; I just have to recover! It's funny," she said then, her voice suddenly softer as she looked at the floor, smiling gently. "But ever since that performance some months ago...I don't feel so sad or scared when I get sick, or when my voice gives out. I just...I feel like it's not the end of the world if I miss a show once in a while, or if I don't get a solo. I used to get so upset when that happened." For a second, Hibiki was hit by a memory. It was of herself at age eleven, sobbing and drinking any tea she could, coming within inches of drinking honey straight from the bottle, sitting inside the bathroom while she ran hot water and steamed up the whole place. Why was clear: her sobs were hoarse, raw-sounding. She'd gotten sick and lost her voice, was unable to sing.

The Hibiki of the present shook her head. "But ever since that day, I feel different. Changed, more peaceful..."

"It's the power of the Dream Charm," Hisa whispered from Fumie's bag, where she and her sister had ducked down in time. Fumie barely inclined her head to listen better. The snake fairy just smiled. "The Dream Charm nurtures all dreams, promises that one missed chance isn't the end. It will never let you give up...Since Hibiki was healed by what there was of the Charm, she'll never be afraid of losing her dream again."

"Amazing..." Fumie whispered.

Hibiki suddenly laughed, blushing bright pink as she put a hand behind her head. "I-I'm sorry, that sounded dumb."

"No way!" Kurako blurted before she could stop herself. "It makes perfect sense! You've regained your confidence, you're never going to give up on your goals! Right?"

"Kurako's right!" Aoi added with a smile as she adjusted her glasses. "I think it makes sense, too...I felt the same way after I failed a recipe from my mother's book. I thought that was the end for me - I was only six!" she protested when she saw the looks the others were giving her. "But mom said...mom said she messed up a lot too, even now. One problem doesn't spell your dream's end, not if you don't let it. So after that, I feel a lot better when I make a mistake in cooking."

"Which is never," Kotone offered. After a brief spell of laughter all around, she turned back to Hibiki, smiling. "So, Hibiki, I'm actually glad we caught you. Y'see, we were wondering if - eh?" Her smiled instantly vanished as she focused on a spot beyond Hibiki. Over the now-confused girl's shoulder, out the window, a large dust-cloud could be seen. When Kotone focused, she saw the trees in the area outside the school swaying slightly._ That must be-!_ "Wondering if...I'm sorry, we'll get back to you later! C'mon, girls!" she shouted, turning and running from the room.

The others chased after her, bowing in apology to the befuddled singer. "I don't get it!" Fumie called as they raced down the stairs and across the courtyard. "I thought we were going to ask Hibiki about the email she got! And she even gave a speech about dreams!"

"But we can't just take her away from the classroom to fight a monster without having her activate the attachment!" Kotone shouted back. "That's just dangerous! Now let's transform, girls!" she added, pulling her PreCure PC from her pocket.

"Right!"

_"Pretty Cure! Show my future!"_  
_"Painting the world with new tints, Cure Ink!"_  
_"Spinning with grace and strength, Cure Twirl!"_  
_"Adding flavor and zest to life, Cure Spice!"_  
_"Drumming a new life's rhythm, Cure Beat!"_  
_"Protecting everyone's dreams, Pretty Cure Bukatsudo Energetic!"_

"Awww, someday I'll transform too," Mari sighed wistfully, a weak smile on her face as she jogged after the Cures.

* * *

High above, Hibiki stared out the window of the music club, her eyes wide in shock. She'd just seen...Her classmates had been racing across the courtyard, there'd been four flashes of bright colored light, and now...

"I- I've seen those girls before!" she gasped.

* * *

_Eyecatch 1: Fumie stands at an easel, tongue poking out slightly as she carefully dabs some paint onto the canvas. Satisfied, she steps back and spins the easel around to reveal a watercolor of Cure Ink, the PCBE logo where a signature should be._  
_Eyecatch 2: Kurako, Aoi, Kotone, Mari, Uta, Kaana and Hisa all sit down on the floor, watching Fumie. Fumie stands at a podium and bangs a rubber gavel, calling the club meeting to order. The PCBE logo appears in the corner._

* * *

"Kyaaaaa!" Uta screamed as the tree Bakuko sent her flying into the fence. The chainlinks rattled an alarming amount when she hit it and slid to the ground.

"U-uta!" Ayumu cried, flying to her side and kneeling beside her. "Are you alright?"

"Y-Yes...I-I'll be okay," she whimpered as she slowly, shakily pushed herself back up.

**"Bakuuuu!"** The Bakuko, resembling a giant tree with more, smaller trees for powerful arms and legs, shook its arms for a moment before charging towards the girls.

Ayumu cried out in fear, grabbing Uta around the shoulders and trying to move. But her grip was weak - it was solid, she didn't pass through the living girl, but she still couldn't manage to make her move. In that one instant of realizing this, she opted to throw herself over Uta instead, hugging her tightly. "Nooo!"

And suddenly a burst of light purple light few over her, hitting the Bakuko in the chest-area. The monster stumbled backwards, shock in its red eyes. **"Bakuko-baku?!"**

Pretty Cure stood in a row atop the fence, Beat's arm outstretched, the energy blast having come from her. Almost unnoticed, Mari jumped gracefully to the ground, Hisa and Kaana sitting atop her shoulder and head respectively. All of them were glaring at the Bakuko with righteous anger. "Alright, who's there?!" Beat shouted as she lowered her arm. "I know one of you must be here, and I thought I told you not to mess with my sister and her friends!"

Chuusha's low chuckle was heard, and she stepped up, revealing herself atop the Bakuko. "Aw, it's Pretty Cure! I was expecting you to show up...I want you to test my new ability!" With that, Chuusha threw her arms out, sending a spray of needles out; some of them headed for Pretty Cure, but most of them went into the Bakuko. The Bakuko shrieked in agony, eyes slamming wide as the needles glowed brightly before dissolving, melting into its flesh. To Pretty Cure's horror, the monster doubled over in pain and, before their very eyes, large spikes began erupting from its limbs, white-hot needles sprouting from those very spikes. Its roar of pain slowly morphed into laughter as its body shook with the force of it, and it looked back at the girls.

"You like it?" Chuusha laughed, a hand on her hip. "I haven't told any of my allies; it's much more fun to surprise others, don't you agree? Now, Bakuko..." She snarled and thrust her arm out, pointing at all present. "Get the Dream Charm, and _tear those girls apart!"_

**"BAKUUUU!"** the Bakuko roared, its voice deeper and distorted. It charged forward again, arms out as if to ram the girls.

"Scatter!" screamed Ink as they all split up, leaping aside. But this proved to be for naught, as the Bakuko only laughed again, and the white-hot, glowing needles sprayed out from its arm-spikes, headed right for the Cures. One of them hit Spice directly in the arm as she was landing from her jump; it melted into her skin in the same manner that it had the Bakuko.

_**"EEYAAAAAAAAH!"**_ she screamed, crashing to the ground. The sound of her cry was enough to make everyone's blood turn into ice, and Twirl immediately forgot the Bakuko to come running to her aid.

"Spice! Spice, are you alright?!" she cried, kneeling beside her friend. Spice just sat there, shivering violently and gasping for air as tears gathered in the corners of her eyes. "Spice, speak to me - Spice-AH!" Twirl screamed, withdrawing the hand she'd been about to put on Spice's shoulder. Those awful needles were suddenly erupting from Spice's own body, and their light began pulsing as the Cure's screams grew louder.

"Consider it payback for humiliating me when you awoke, Cure Spice!" Chuusha called down.

"Spice..." Twirl whispered. She grit her teeth and turned around, looking desperately to the other half of her team. "Get the Bakuko! I'll take care of Spice!"

"N-Ngh...g-get...g-get the others...o-o-out of here...AAAAH!" Spice sobbed, falling over as the needles sapped more of her energy and injected more pain into her body.

Mari and the fairies, who'd been lucky enough to have dived out of range when the Bakuko had initially charged, crawled over to Ayumu and Uta. "Are you okay?" Mari asked, whispering.

Uta and Ayumu both nodded, casting horrified and concerned looks at the downed Cure. "But what about Cure Spice?" Uta cried. "She needs help!"

"I know, I know, but-" Mari bit her lip, looking back to the battle. There had to be something, anything someone could do!

The Bakuko was ambling towards Spice and Twirl when the two remaining Cures leaped into the air again. "You get away from Spice!" Ink roared, flinging a blast of dark blue energy at Chuusha's back.

Chuusha suddenly looked over her shoulder, smirking. And then in the very next instant, the Bakuko lifted one hand to block her, and the familiar spray of needles shot out. One struck Fumie in the chest, another hit Beat's leg just as she fired another blast. The girls both screamed as if their limbs were being torn off, crashing back to the ground. Within seconds, they were in the same condition as Spice, in too much agony to even writhe on the ground.

"Pretty Cure!" the three civilians screamed.

"Beat! K-Kotone - sister!" Uta cried, making to run forward. Ayumu and Mari held her back.

"Uta, no! There's nothing you can do for them!" Hisa cried. "Pretty Cure...Pretty Cure, get up! Get back up!"

Twirl squeezed Spice's shoulder, as if to reassure her that she'd be alright, before charging back into the fray. "Hey, Bakuko!" she shouted, voice raw with emotion. "Let's see if you can keep up with _a gymnast!"_ She leaped into the air like her teammates had, but this time when the Bakuko fired a few needles at her, she swung her leg out and kicked them aside._ If I avoid the pointed ends, I'll be fine_! she thought, gritting her teeth. _I'll be fine, I have to defend the others!_ "Chuusha!" she roared. "End this now!"

"I don't think I will," Chuusha said, smirking, her tone casual. "You Pretty Cure brats have meddled in Mora's affairs for far too long, since even before this conflict!"

Ayumu gasped.

_A group of Cures, in different colored uniforms than the current team. A lilac-haired girl rushing to defend her teammates..._

"The...current conflict?" she whispered, grip slackening on Uta's arm. Uta took that opportunity to slip away from the others further, but Ayumu didn't notice. "The...current...? Mora was-!"

"We interfere because we have to protect our friends!" Twirl cried, kicking away more needles as she fell down towards Chuusha. An arm came up to shield her again, and Twirl only landed with all the grace of a gymnast and ran along it, dodging spikes and needles all the while. "We have to protect dreams!" she shouted, aiming a powerful punch at a spike directly in front of her. It shattered as she still ran, not stopping for the slightest moment, jumped off and threw a blast of energy at Chuusha. "For Hibiki...for my friends...for Uta, Mari, Ayumu! Everyone in this world! We have to protect them, we can't let you hurt them!"

"That's right!" someone below shouted.

"Protect their dreams?" Chuusha snarled as the blast struck her shoulder. She recoiled from the force of it, and then grabbed Twirl's wrist, effectively stopping the girl's punch before it could land. _"You really don't understand a thing, do you?!"_ she roared.

Hibiki ran across the courtyard then, gripping the chainlinks of the fence between her fingers as she stared in shock at the scene before her. Three girls who'd been made into human pincushions, their screams growing hoarse; a glowing girl with two snakes, and two of her classmates...all of them surrounding a tree-monster and two others atop it. "Wh-what is this?!" she cried.

Uta and Mari gasped, looking over to her. "Hibiki, get away!" Uta shouted. "Run!"

"N-No! Tell me what's going on here!" Hibiki shouted desperately, eyes shining. "What's going on - why are our classmates like this?!"

"GYAAAAAH!"

Everyone's attention turned back to the monster. Chuusha chuckled darkly as Twirl dropped to the ground, those needles all over her too now. As the red Cure lay there screaming in agony, Chuusha's laugh grew louder and more deranged. "Pathetic! I should have done this ages ago! Now all I need is - eh?" She stopped, still smiling as she finally noticed the non-Cures on the scene. "Well, clearly you girls are a possible liability to Mora and our goals...therefore-!"

**"BAKUUU!"** The Bakuko shrieked, sending out more needles, some headed for Mari and Uta, another for Hibiki.

"NOOO!" Ayumu threw herself in front of Mari and Uta, arms outstretched. "Leave them alone-AAAAAH!" Ayumu screamed, dropping to the ground herself, another victim of Chuusha's ability.

"Ayumu!" Uta dropped to her knees, embracing the ghost girl as tightly as she could. "Ayumu, can you hear me?"

"What's happening?!" Hibiki screamed as she fell to her knees, needles erupting all over her.

Ayumu's screams turned into pained gasps as she opened her eyes, staring up at Mari and Uta. "I- I'm sorry," she wheezed. "I couldn't...I couldn't protect anyone this time either..." She grit her teeth and shut her eyes again as new agony washed over her.

"Ayumu!" Uta gasped.

Chuusha only laughed, the Bakuko joining in. "It's over! It's all over!" she cried.

"No!"

The doctor's laughter suddenly stopped, a confused look on her face. "Eh? Now what?" She looked down, and saw Uta standing there, her hands clenched into fists as she glared up at them both. "Oh, it's just you...that's good, stands till so I can eliminate you like I'll eliminate them!" Chuusha gestured to the screaming, prone Pretty Cure and Hibiki.

"No! This is far enough!" Uta declared angrily. "I won't stay still...I won't stand here and let you continue to hurt my sister and her friends! Too long...t-too long I've done nothing while my friends and family are risking lives to defeat you! I've sat and done nothing while my sister almost drowned! While my friend was brainwashed by you! I've even fallen victim to you myself...But I won't anymore! I can't do nothing, I refuse to be a powerless little girl anymore! Even if I must remain a normal girl, even if I have no powers...I'll never stop trying to help my friends, I'll never stop trying to stop you!"

"How touching," Chuusha remarked dryly. "But you can't stand up to me! Not like this! Bakuko!"

**"BAKUUU!"** Another spray of needles shot out, right for Uta - Mari and the fairies screamed her name-

_Pipipipipipipipipipipipi-!_

A sudden light burst from the pocket of Uta's uniform pocket, forming into a bubble and rapidly expanding, pushing Chuusha's needles away. The needles exploded into tiny light particles, harmless. "Wh-what is this?" Uta gasped, withdrawing her pocket computer. _This light...this sound..._ she thought as she flipped it open. _I...I've heard this before!_

_"What?_!" Chuusha cried, eyes wide in shock, pupils and irises pinpricks.

Uta closed her eyes, frowning in resolution. Then her eyes slammed open again, and with a flourish she held the new PreCure PC next to her face. _"I won't let you hurt them anymore!"_

**C.U.R.E. Okay!**

_"Pretty Cure! Show my future!"_

Suddenly Uta was in a bright pink light, her clothes exploding away into tiny bubbles of that same, but brighter, light. She closed her eyes and spun on her toe, purple hair rapidly lengthening and dividing into two. Ribbons of bright pink light wrapped around her chest and waist, exploding away to reveal a white midriff-baring top with short, puffy sleeves, and a short white skirt with pink lace trim. She leaned back, lifting her arms as the ribbons wrapped around them and kept spiraling down to her chest again; these soon became white wrist-length gloves with pink ribbon, and the frilled pink vest. From another burst of light came her heart-shaped clasp, soft pink with a white dot in the middle and attaching with a lighter pink ribbon. She stood with her arms outstretched at her sides, legs together as more ribbon-lights wrapped around them and formed her white thigh-highs with pink trim, and pink Mary-Janes with bright pink jewels on the straps. The next bits happened in mere seconds, in rapid succession: a bubble of light hit her throat and formed her pink choker, another hit her waist and formed a pink belt, and her parted hair turned a purplish-pink and was formed into two heart-shaped odango with long, spiraling ponytails descending.

The light faded as Chuusha lifted a hand to her eyes, too late. "Th-This light...It can't be-!"

From where the transformed Uta stood, a dome of pink light suddenly expanding, washing over everything. As it passed over the girls, both Cure and not, the needles burst into light particles, and the pain subsided. One by one, the girls relaxed and opened their eyes, pushed themselves up to see their new teammate.

"This...this is..." Ink whispered.

"Is it really...?" Beat gasped.

The light faded, and the new Cure opened her eyes, revealing them to be a warm gold now. She smiled calmly as she stared up at Chuusha.

"Our new teammate!" Spice whispered in awe.

"It's-!" Twirl added.

Chuusha just snarled. "Wh- Who the hell are you supposed to be, huh!?"

This new Cure touched her fingertips to her throat, a thin ring of pink light expanding from where she touched it, a faint chime was heard._ "Joyfully singing life's song...Cure Aria!"_

"Uta...is the new Cure?" Mari whispered, blinking in shock and disappointment.

"U-Uta?" Hibiki whimpered as she looked back up.

Chuusha only growled animalistically, her pupils pinpricks among an expanse of white, face contorted in rage. "I don't care who you are, you won't stand a chance against me! Bakuko, take her out _now!"_

**"BAKUKO-BAKO!"** the monster shouted, aiming a new wave of needles at Aria. But Aria just frowned, mouth set in a grim line of determination, and leaped into the air, avoiding the wave. Once airborne, she swept one arm out, sending an arc of bright pink light at the Bakuko. The light vaporized any new needles flung her way, hit the spikes on its limbs. The Bakuko shrieked as the light washed over it, shattered the arm-spikes. **"BAKU?!"**

_"What?!"_ Chuusha gasped. She stepped back as Aria landed directly in front of her, ran for her and aimed a punch for her stomach. Chuusha blocked it, but Aria was quick to follow with a kick to the woman's side. The kick connected and Chuusha stumbled back from the force. "You- You little brat!" She flung her arms out, preparing to send more needles at the new Cure, but another arc of light stopped that before it could even begin.

Aria jumped up into the air again, blocking out the sun as she turned to face the enemy head-on. "You won't hurt my friends or sister again! Not while I'm here to help them...

_"Pretty Cure..."_ Aria brought her hands to her throat again, tilted her head back with her eyes closed. Pink light formed at her fingertips over her throat before expanding into a ring and encircling her. She opened her eyes and gracefully thrust her arms back out, hands open, before sweeping them back at her sides. _"Musica Encore!"_

The ring spiraled out and away from her, shooting lightning-fast at the Bakuko. It struck directly onto the key-hole shaped mark on its forehead area, making it tense up and cry out. **"B-Bakuuu! Bak...u..."** it sighed sleepily before the light washed over it. In a burst of light, it was a regular tree once more, Chuusha standing among the branches.

Chuusha leaned against the trunk of the tree, teeth grit in anger. "D-Damn you..." she sneered. The dark portal appeared behind her, and she stepped backwards inside it, and vanished.

Cure Aria landed gracefully in the middle of the clearing, staring at her hands in awe. "I...I really..." she whispered.

"Aria!"

The new Cure yelped as Beat jumped on her, wrapping her up in a tight hug. She laughed, tears collecting in the corners of her eyes as she nuzzled her sister's face. "My sister...my sister is Cure Aria! You're the one, you're the one!" she half-laughed, half-cried.

"Ariaaa!" The rest of the Cures shouted gleefully, rushing over to form a group hug with Aria in the middle. "Nice to meet you~!"

"A-ah, everyone..." Aria laughed nervously, but still smiled tearfully and attempted to embrace everyone at once. "You're all alright!"

In the background, Hibiki shakily stood back up, glancing between the Cures and the two other girls. "What...what is going on?" she asked.

Mari's expression was unreadable as she observed the scene. "I...I'll explain later, Hibiki," she mumbled sadly.

Oblivious to what was happening around them, Pretty Cure laughed and cried at the same time, not having any intention of ending the group hug any time soon.

* * *

**ED: "Lead Me There" - YUME featuring Mari **

* * *

**Kurako:** "We've found her! With five of us, Mora won't stand a chance!"  
**Fumie:** "Hey, hey, let's celebrate...by going to the ocean!"  
**Kurako:** "Wait, what?"  
**All:** "The ocean, the ocean!"  
**Uta:** "H-Hey, wait a second...who are those people?! Next time on Pretty Cure Bukatsudo Energetic: Cure Collision! Fancy Meeting You Here! Please don't be late for next meeting!"


	17. Chapter 17

The chime of the end-of-class bell was immediately followed by a series of loud whoops and cheers that could be heard all over the school. Small wonder, considering every single class was cheering.

Fumie's teacher sighed as she leaned over her desk, surveying her cheering students as they threw various pencils, erasers, and the occasional composition notebook into the air. "Oh, go on, get going," she said, waving a hand dismissively. Then she smiled, tired demeanor gone as she added "Enjoy your brief vacation, and I expect to see every single one of you in two weeks."

"Bye, teacher!" everyone chorused, standing up and pushing back their chairs.

As the familiar group of friends walked out the door, Mari was biting her lower lip to keep from sobbing. "It's so unfaaaiiiir!" she wept. As everyone stared at her awkwardly, she began to flail about in place, stomping her feet and swaying side to side with her fists under her chin. "First Uta gets to be a Cure and be part of the ultra-awesome Pretty Cure group, and now we finally get to have summer break and Kurako gets to take everyone to her summer home, but _I can't go because I have cheering caaaamp!"_ She sobbed louder, tears gushing comically from her eyes as she dropped to her knees and hugged Fumie around her legs. "Fu-mi-e-taaaan! Take me with yooouuu! Stuff me in your suitcase, disguise me, we'll pretend I'm your maidservant, just don't leave me all alooooone!"

"Ah...I'm sorry, Mari!" Fumie said, looking as if she wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. "B-But you know you can't skip cheering camp, especially when you're team captain and-"

"But I wanna go to the beach tooooo...I got a cute new swimsuit to show you and everything!"

"You could show her at the pool," Kurako pointed out.

"It's not the saaaame!"

At that moment, two girls from Mari's cheering squad approached. One of them, a girl with long, wavy brown hair in twintails, bent down and took Mari by the shoulders. "Captain, we have to hurry and get ready." She pulled, but Mari just wailed and held onto Fumie's legs tighter. The other girl, a tan girl with blue hair in a pixie cut, had to help pull her off and they dragged her down the hall. "Come _on_, Captain, you can talk to her later."

"Fumie-tan! You owwwe meeeee!" Mari cried as they turned the corner.

After a moment of awkward silence, Kurako coughed into her fist. "Right...we ought to be going as well."

* * *

OP: "Meeting Role-Call" - Bukatsudo Five ft. Kaana and Hisa

* * *

"Bye, Bus!" Kaana shouted, poking her head out of Fumie's backpack. "Thanks for the ride!"

"He can't hear you, Kaana," Aoi laughed as they all set out down the road. Kurako was in the lead, as it was her summer home, after all.

"It's just down here, guys," she said, leading everyone down a path from the road to the beach. Kurako and Aoi kept going forward, but everyone else stopped at the top of the hill, where the path's base was, and stared. A faint "wooooow" went around the group as they took in the view; the beach itself was clean, and the sand looked like it was perfect for all sorts of sand-sculptures. The ocean was a deep sapphire blue, gentle waves touching the shore as a small crowd of people milled around, playing games and tanning and swimming.

The amount of people was one of the best parts, Fumie decided right then. It wasn't horribly-crowded, nor was it practically-empty. It was just right. "This is gonna be greeeaaat," she sighed happily.

"Hey, Fumie, hurry up!"

Fumie snapped out of her reverie to the sound of Kotone's voice, and she yelped in alarm when she noticed everyone had gone ahead without her. "H- Hey, wait for me!" she shouted, taking off at full-speed down the path. The girls were walking along a small boardwalk that led to a cluster of large summer cabins within view of the beach. Fumie ran faster to try and catch up.

In the background, one of the volleyball players smirked as she got ready to serve. _"Hyyyah!"_ The serve was too powerful for their light-hearted game, and the ball went sailing clear over the other teams' heads, over the imaginary 'out of bounds' line...

"Our ball!"

Fumie stopped in her running, turned around and saw a volleyball headed right for her face.

"Look out!"

With a loud scream, Fumie instinctively reached up, and managed to catch the ball before it hit her face. She lowered it as she breathed a sigh of relief, but it proved to be short-lived as she looked up...  
...And saw a brown-haired girl running towards her, too fast to stop in time.

For a split-second, time seemed to freeze as the girls locked eyes, the world falling away into a void of white as they stared at each other, their individual heartbeats ringing in their ears. Then, just as quickly as it started, it stopped, and the brunette crashed right into Fumie and they both fell off the boardwalk and onto a wall of compressed sand.

"Ow..."

* * *

TODAY'S EPISODE: Cure Collision! Fancy Meeting You Here!

* * *

The two girls groaned as they disentangled themselves, the volleyball rolling off to the side before resting to a stop against the side of the boardwalk. "Owww...Oh, no, I'm sorry!" the brunette gasped as she sat up. "I'm so sorry, miss - are you alright?"

"Geez, Hiroko..." The brunette's friends were walking towards them, just as Fumie's were. The speaker, a dishwater-blonde girl in a pink tankini, held her hands behind her head as she smiled. "You coulda caught that! Sorry about that. You okay?"

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine..." Fumie grunted, accepting the brunette's - apparently named Hiroko - outstretched hand. She beamed, teeth showing as she said "I've been hit with way worse!"

"Worse than an Izumi-serve?" came another voice. This time the speaker was a girl with short, cerise hair and glasses, clad in a white frilly sundress with a faint rose pattern. She frowned lightly, focusing most of her look on the awkwardly-laughing Izumi, before turning back to the other group. "We're truly sorry about that."

"R-Really, it's alright!" Aoi said hastily, waving a hand in front of herself.

"You're sure?" Hiroko bit her bottom lip as she surveyed Fumie's head, searching for any nasty sort of bumps or redness. When Fumie nodded, Hiroko did too, but less enthusiastically. "Well...i-if you feel lightheaded, then call a doctor and then tell us. I'm sure we can pay for your medical check!"

* * *

In Despair Horizon, there was a loud, unearthly shriek of rage. Two seconds later, the sound of glass shattered rang through the area as Chuusha flung a teacup against the floor. "Those wretched _**brats!"**_ she roared. She grabbed another teacup, flung that too. "How could this happen to me? How?!"

Kemuri watched from the shadows, hugging herself as she watched Chuusha's rampage in wide-eyed fright. It was lucky for Chuusha that Gachan was tending to Nocturna at the moment, she thought. Or else there might be_ two_ angry Mora members, and then there'd be in-fighting, and...Well, with the fifth Cure awakened, they couldn't afford to fall apart.

When another teacup shattered a little too close to her, Kemuri hopped back. "I-I'm going out for a bit!" she hastily said, before vanishing in a puff of magenta smoke.

Chuusha barely noticed, letting out one final shriek to pierce the air.

* * *

"She was nice," Uta commented as they dropped their luggage on the floor. Then she, and everyone else, looked around the cabin in amazement, a faint chorus of "wooow" going around once again. The place was spacious, and had large picture windows, and clean wooden floors. The furnishings were simple, but homy, with throw pillows and throw blankets against the chairs and cushioned window seats, a few pictures of a tinier Kurako on the walls ("Don't pay attention to those," she grumbled, red-faced), and apparently her parents had stocked the fridge with all the food they'd ever want. Attached to said fridge was a sticky note saying to not be shy, and how happy they were that "little Kurako has made even more friends! 3"

Kurako blushed and told them to ignore that, too.

In a short time, they had changed out of their school uniforms and into their beach clothes, and had pushed their suitcases against a wall and propped them open. Easier than unpacking and then repacking, Kotone had said, and everyone was too eager to get to the beach already to argue.

And on the subject of eagerness... "Hey," Aoi said, looking around. "Where's Kurako?"

* * *

Being embarrassed, and unpacking, worked up an appetite.

Kurako, wearing a small red sundress and wide-brimmed white hat with ribbon, waved goodbye to the hot dog vendor as he ambled along again. She then turned her gaze to her meal; a cheese-filled hot dog. "Alriiight~" she smiled, preparing to take a big bite.

"Chu?"

"Eh?" Kurako stopped right then, glanced around with her brows knitted. "What was that?"

"Chuuu?"

Wait, was that coming from...? Kurako glanced down and came face-to-face with a fluffy mouse, its wide eyes looking, pleadingly, up at her. She swore she could see those huge, pathetic eyes shining with unshed tears. "And no wonder," she mumbled as she crouched down. "You're kinda far from home, aren't you, sweetie?" She reached out with the hand holding the hot dog, extending a finger and gently caressing the mouse's little head. "How did a mouse even end up on the beach anyway?" she realized, frowning again.

The mouse seemed to enjoy the physical attention for a moment, before it suddenly climbed up Kurako's hand and began helping itself to her hot dog.

"H-Hey!" Kurako shouted, standing up at once. "Hey, cut that out, that's mine-!"

"Kisu, here you are!" Another girl with black hair in two buns, wearing a pale yellow tank-top and wrap-skirt, jogged over, looking at the mouse in admonishment. "Why'd you sneak outta my bag, Kisu? It's dangerous for a little mouse at the beach! Eh?" She blinked, and her eyes shifted to Kurako, as if she had just now noticed her. "Ah! He ate your food - I'm so sorry!" she said with a bow.

"Ah, he can have it," Kurako said with a sigh. She transferred both the food and mouse to the other girl, staring at it. "So, he's your pet?"

"Oh no, he's my baby brother!" the other girl said with a large smile.

"...he's what now?"

"Oh! Hey, you know what? He ate your food, and you gave it to him, so let me get you another one!"

"No, no, it's fine." Kurako reached into her sundress pocket and produced a silvery card. Her parents had given her a credit card when she was littler, only after she promised she would only ever use it for emergencies. And when she never declared 'fashion emergency,' and only used it once to pay fare for a taxi home when her train was delayed, they revised the rule to 'just don't go crazy.' "C'mon, I'll just find an ATM, and buy one myself. And I'll you one, too, okay?" she said with a smile.

"Wow, really?! Thanks! Oh hey, I'm Muse Inoue, by the way! And this is Kisu!"

"I'm Kurako Kaneyama."

* * *

"Kurako!" Aoi called out as she walked down the beach, a hand cupped around her mouth. "Come on, Kurako, where did you go?" She suddenly stopped, moved her hand to rub the back of her neck as she laughed awkwardly. "Ah, what am I saying? Kurako's 14, she's not a little kid...She'll be fine on her own."

"Ehhhh?!"

The sudden shout caught Aoi's attention and she lowered her hand, glancing to find the source of the outcry. About ten feet away from her, a girl with dirty-blonde hair was standing at one of the several food booths, hands on her hips.

"What do ya mean you're out?" she said, a mixture of heartbreak and frustration crossing her face.

"Sorry, miss," said the food-worker with a shrug of her shoulders. "But we just sold the last pizza to a girl about half an hour ago."

"This suuuuucks..." the blonde hung her head, exaggerated despair on her face.

Aoi smiled apologetically, unable to help but feel bad for her. Well, food was highly important, and pizza was apparently important to _this_ girl, so...Well, of course she ought to help out! "Uhm, pardon me," she said, placing a hand gently on the other girl's shoulder. The blonde blinked, turned to look at Aoi over her shoulder. Aoi smiled and adjusted her glasses. "It's not quite a pizza, but I have some pizza balls in my picnic basket somewhere..."

Five minutes later, Aoi was kneeling before the basket, removing various Tupperware and setting them aside. As each new container was produced, the blonde's eyes grew wider, and a faint bit of drool appeared in the corner of her mouth. "Not this one...no...no, that's the dango...sandwiches, chicken, candy - ah!" She grinned triumphantly as she withdrew another container identical to the previous ones, and removed the lid with a flourish. "Pizza balls! Help yourself."

"Thanks!" The blonde girl was on the container in an instant, popping a whole snack into her mouth and chewing happily. Then she suddenly stopped, her eyes opening wide. And then a slow smile worked its way across her face. "Woooow, this tastes _awesome!"_

"Oh, thanks, I made it."

"_You_? Wow, your cooking just rules everything, uh..."

Aoi jumped, blushed faintly as she rubbed the back of her head. "Ahaha...I'm sorry. My name's Aoi Wada."

"Izumi Hamasaki." Izumi grinned, holding a hand out for Aoi to shake.

As Izumi speared another pizza ball with a convenient toothpick, there was another loud cry, steadily growing louder. Both girls looked up in time to see Kotone racing towards them, sand being kicked up behind her in a long trailer. "A-o-iiiiiii!" she shouted. Izumi and Aoi cringed back as Kotone skidded to a halt right in front of them, Izumi hastily leaning over the container to protect her food from the sand. Kotone stood there, breathing heavily with her hands curled into fists, her eyes wide. "Aoi, those were _mine_!"

"Technically, I'm the one who cooked them."

"But they were for _me!"_ Kotone tapped her chest with both hands for emphasis, leaned forward. "That was my snack, you can't just give it to someone else!"

"Uhhh, you okay, there?" Izumi asked with a frown.

Aoi sighed. "Kotone..." Whatever she was about to say was interrupted by Izumi suddenly holding the container up.

Izumi smiled at Kotone, holding the Tupperware in one hand and a fresh toothpick in the other. "Sorry, man," she laughed with a tilt of her head. "Hey, we can share 'em, right? C'mon, sit with us!"

Kotone stood silently for a while before she relaxed, exhaling a light breath before smiling back at Izumi. "Yeah, why not?"

* * *

"This is delicious!" Muse cheered, talking around a mouthful of hotdog.

Kurako, sitting beside her on a blanket on the beach, smiled in exasperation and handed her a napkin. "Cover your mouth, please."

"Hee, sorry! You like this, Kisu?" Muse smiled, more gently, down at the little rat in her lap. Kurako followed her gaze, noticing the rat happily munching another hotdog. Surprisingly, even though it was the same size as their own, the rat had eaten a lot more than they had. He sure had an appetite, Kurako laughed to herself.

"Muse, there you are." The cerise-haired girl approached, now wearing a sunhat to match her frilly dress and carrying a paper cup. "I thought you were going to get Kisu—oh." Her gaze went to the rat, then to Kurako, and her brows lifted slightly as she pieced things together. "Oh, I see."

She and Kurako stared, silently sizing each other up for a few moments. Then the cerise-haired girl smiled faintly, looking a bit nervous as she did so. "I have a shaved ice," she said, indicating the cup. "Do you mind if I eat with you two?"

Kurako smiled. "Yeah, come on down...My name's Kurako Kaneyama, and you are?"

"Yasu Fukuda."

* * *

Fumie had been the last one to leave the cabin. She'd gone into the bathroom to try on her new swimsuit – a cute ensemble consisting of a baby-blue tankini and a see-through yellow sari around her chest – and had come out only to see her friends had already gone! _They could have at least waited for me_, she pouted silently, sitting by herself under an umbrella. From her position she could see all her friends and their own new friends; apparently they hadn't branched out as far as one would think. Fumie sighed. "I can't just barge in, can I?" She heaved another sigh, turned her gaze skyward. "I bet if Mari were here, _she_ could hang out with me..."

"Uhm...excuse me?"

"Eh?" Fumie looked to the voice, stared straight up at the brunette from earlier. "Oh! You're uh...Hiroko, right?"

Hiroko smiled nervously and nodded. "Yeah! Hey, ah, I'm sorry about earlier. I just wanted to make sure you were really okay, miss...?"

"Ah, Fumie!" Fumie grinned and held out her hand. "Fumie Motou! And I'm fine, see? No bruises."

"Oh, that's good! Hey, I still feel a bit bad, so...can I get you something? Shaved ice, maybe? I feel awful, you have to at least let me make it up to you!"

Fumie's smile widened. "Well...not shaved ice, but..."

* * *

Kisu had finished his own hot dog, and was now joyfully munching on the pieces Kurako was offering. The black-haired girl smiled at him, cheeks tinting a faint pink. "He's pretty cute, Muse! He's your pet, right?"

"No, I told you already, he's my broth — mmf!" Muse found Yasu's hand clamped over her mouth in an instant.

"Yes, he's her pet," Yasu quickly said, pushing her glasses up her nose and giving Muse the side-eye.

Kurako frowned slightly, staring hard at the two other girls. She opened her mouth to speak, when she suddenly heard laughter coming from nearby. She, and the rest of the girls, looked over to see Fumie and Hiroko frantically trying to protect a rather amateurish sandcastle from Uta. The pigtailed girl was holding a bucket of water above her head, laughing as Fumie tried to gently shove her away. "Every castle needs a moat!" she cried.

"Noooo, we worked hard on this!" Fumie said.

"But it needs improvement, and a moat would improve it!"

"Don't you dare!" Hiroko laughed herself, face pink as she nearly threw herself over the sandcastle. She let out a cry of mock dismay as part of it collapsed.

Muse jumped up, pumping a fist into the air. "I'll save you, Hiro-chamaaa!" she cried as she ran towards them. From a few feet away, Izumi could be heard whooping as she too ran for the sandcastle.

Yasu sighed, but she was still smiling a little, and she looked over at Kurako. "Shall we help them?" she asked.

Kurako paused for a moment, then sighed and chuckled, transferring Kisu from her shoulder to the towel, so gently that anyone would think Kisu was _her_ baby brother. Pet. Whatever. "Might as well. Fumie's going to pout about it all day if it gets ruined." That said, the two girls rose to their feet and, yelling, ran to join the rapidly-growing fray.

Meanwhile, Kaana and Hisa poked their heads out of Kurako's discarded beach bag, Kaana making direct eye-contact with Kisu. Kisu in turn squeaked in fear, backed away shivering. After a brief pause, Kaana ducked back into the bag and emerged with a toffee candy in her mouth. Kisu stepped forward, sniffing tentatively, then smiled at Kaana for a moment before taking the snack.

* * *

_Eyecatch 1:_ Kaana and Hisa, in human form, stand together to take a selfie. Hisa takes the picture, and after a flash fills the screen, we see the photo. Pretty Cure have photo-bombed the sisters; Hisa looks in annoyance at Ink, Twirl, and Beat, while Kaana smiles at Spice and Aria. The PCBE logo appears in the corner.  
_Eyecatch 2:_ Pretty Cure (as civilians) stand in Fumie's room with the curtains shut. Fumie is holding the Dream Charm in the air by the chain as Kaana and Hisa part the curtains. The sunlight hits the charm and everyone smiles in open-mouthed awe as the whole room is filled with rainbow light. The PCBE logo appears in the corner.

* * *

"Whew! That's done!" Izumi straightened up, wiped her forehead with the back of her fist.

Over the past hour or so, the girls had managed to wrestle the bucket away from Uta (Muse accidentally upending it on the poor girl), and they had all pitched in to make the sandcastle. Now it stood tall and perfect, turrets and walls everywhere, a few decorative seashells pressed into the sides.  
And in the end, yes, Uta had made the moat.

"It looks great," Aoi smiled, holding her hands out as if to frame the scene, closing one eye. Nodding her satisfaction, she lowered her hands again and smiled around the group. "We did a good job, everyone!"

It was almost funny, really, how easily they'd all just...played like that. How easily they'd gotten along, and befriended one another. And yes, even though only a little over an hour had passed since Kurako and first met Muse, it felt safe to say they were friends. She made a mental note to ask everyone for their contact information.

"So now what do we do?" Uta asked.

"I got it!" Izumi grinned, all teeth as she produced a volleyball from seemingly nowhere. "We got enough people for a volleyball game~!"

Hiroko and Fumie exchanged nervous looks.

* * *

Meanwhile, Kemuri lay in an inner tube as it bobbed lightly in the waves, a pair of oversized sunglasses over her eyes. "Man, I needed this!" she sighed happily. "Especially with Chuusha being in such a mood..." She frowned slightly, pulling her sunglasses down her nose thoughtfully. "Hm. If only she got out into the sun more, she'd be more relaxed."

Familiar peals of laughter reached her ears. She sat up fully now, the sudden shift in weight making the inner-tube sink and lean dangerously, and lifted her sunglasses to her forehead...revealing that she was somehow wearing her monocle underneath. Her eyes widened as she saw the civilian forms of her foes. "Pretty Cure's here?! Gaaah, I can't get any sort of break from them, can I?" she sighed dramatically.

Then she grinned. "Well...I bet if I get rid of them right here and now...then I can get a vacation! A real one! It's perfect!" she laughed as she suddenly stood on the inner-tube. At that moment, the inner-tube slid out from under her, sending Kemuri into the ocean with a loud splash and cry of shock.

* * *

"Hyaaaaah! Izumi...Fire!" Izumi leaped into the air, spiking the ball down towards the sand.

Fumie yelped and jumped back as the ball struck the ground directly in front of her.

"Whoo!" On the other side of the net, Izumi turned to Kotone and exchanged a double high-five with her. "That's another point for us! Yeah!"

"So what's the score now?" asked Kurako.

"Thirty to twenty?" Yasu adjusted her glasses again, shaking one of her tingling hands a little. Izumi and Kotone hit _hard_. "I stopped keeping track about five minutes ago."

"Hey, can I play?~"

"We've kinda got a full group right now," Izumi started to say, as she turned to speak to the newcomer. Then she stopped, staring with a tilt of her head, as did everyone else. The Bukatsudo Energetic girls, however, gasped quietly, fingers twitching as if to grab their PreCure PCs.

"K-Kemuri!" Uta whispered.

Kemuri stood before them, a hand on her hip and her free hand gently jostling a Dream-Eating Crane. "Nah, I don't wanna play volleyball," she laughed. With a wicked grin, the sunlight glinting off of her monocle, she turned, flung the paper crane at a nearby bucket of ocean-water. "Bakuko, go!"

The crane landed in the water, and in a bright burst of light, a Bakuko stood where the bucket once was. It was giant, per the norm, and resembled a strange hybrid of hermit crab and octopus, with the giant overturned bucket serving as its shell, and a watery body. Bright yellow, glowing angry eyes peered out from beneath the bucket, and it roared as it lifted two of its eight tentacles. **"Bakuuuuu!"**

"Wh-what is that?" Hiroko cried, yelping as Fumie suddenly grabbed her arm and pulled her along.

"Run!"

Kemuri, now sitting atop the bucket, laughed as the people on the beach fled, screaming in terror. "Yeah, you run, too!" she jeered at her enemies as they led their friends to safety, kicking her sandaled feet. "It'll make squishing you all that much more fun!" _And then no one will oppose Lady Nocturna,_ she added internally, her smile widening nearly to her ears.

* * *

Kurako shoved Yasu inside the girls' summer cabin, where Yasu's friends and Kisu stood in the den, looking torn between confusion and fear. "You'll be safe here," Kurako said hurriedly before turning for the door.

"H-Hey, wait!" Muse cried, stepping forward. "Why'd you take us in here? We can-"

Fumie shot a smile at them. "Just stay here, okay?" she said, cutting Muse off. "Stay away from the window, and stay down!"

"Wait a second! We're trying to tell you, we-!" Hiroko began, cut off as the door slammed shut.

* * *

"Ehhh, you're back?" Kemuri frowned briefly as the girls ran back onto the now-deserted beach. "Sheesh, I was hoping I could flood the houses."

"We were just trying to have a nice vacation!" Fumie called up at her.

"And spend time with our new friends!" Uta finished.

Each of the five girls produced their PreCure PCs, glowering up at Kemuri. "We won't forgive you!" they said as one.

* * *

Izumi, completely ignoring Fumie's advice, flung open the curtains and stared out at the beach. Her eyes went wide at what she saw. "Hey, guys! Check this out!"

* * *

_"Pretty Cure! Show my future!"_  
_"Painting the world with new tints, Cure Ink!"_  
_"Spinning with grace and strength, Cure Twirl!"_  
_"Adding flavor and zest to life, Cure Spice!"_  
_"Drumming a new life's rhythm, Cure Beat!"_  
_"Joyfully singing life's song...Cure Aria!"_  
_"Protecting everyone's dreams, Pretty Cure Bukatsudo Energetic!"_

**"Bakuko-kooo!"** The Bakuko swiped one of it tentacles at the girls, who leaped high into the air to avoid it. Airborne, Ink quickly looked over the monster, easily potting the keyhole-shaped mark at the top of the bucket...or was it the bottom? Either way, that was their target.

"Right there, everyone!" she yelled, pointing. That said, she drew her arm back, ready to shoot out a power-blast-

-and Kemuri just smirked, waving an index finger. "I don't think soooo~" she sang. The Bakuko lashed out with another tentacle, and instead of smacking Cure Ink away, it submerged her in water.

"Ink!" Cure Twirl yelled as she and the others landed on the beach. She ran towards the Bakuko, keeping her eyes on Ink, still suspended in the air and grabbing at her throat as bubbles escaped her mouth. "I've got you!"

"Guess again!" Kemuri laughed.

Another tentacle swung at Cure Twirl, never relinquishing Ink for a second. The other three Cures ran for Twirl, aiming to move her out of danger. "Cure Twirl, look out-!"

Just then, twin blasts of gold shot out from nowhere, one striking the tentacle headed for Twirl and veering it away, the other cutting right through the one holding Ink. Ink fell, landing into a crouch on the beach as the water splashed harmlessly around her, and coughed for air.

"What?!" Kemuri cried, echoing everyone's current thought.

All five Cures and villain looked further up the beach. There stood Muse, Yasu, Izumi, and Hiroko; Muse stood with both hands lifted, the blasts having apparently come from here. "Leave our friends alone, you bully!" she yelled down.

"G-Girls! What're you doing here?!" Cure Spice cried, frantic. She swung her arm out, making a broad 'run' gesture. "Get out of here before you get hurt!"

"As we tried to say," Hiroko said, frowning lightly. "We can_ help!_" She, Yasu, and Izumi all produced odd cell phones from their pockets, held them aloft.

_"Transmute! Pretty Cure Henshin!"_

The beach was bathed in three different colors of light; bronze, blue, and lavender. Even the monster was surprised, squinting slightly with everyone else.

Cure Ink looked over her hand, her confused expression slowly changing to one of delight as the light burst away from their new friends.

_"The hidden azure scales, Cure Draco!"_  
_"The forceful black shell, Cure Kame!"_  
_"The shining silver fangs, Cure Tora!"_

_"Live in tomorrow, fight for today!"_ The Cure trio said, posing. _"We are Pretty Cure!"_

Kemuri sat frozen in shock, monocle slipping just slightly as she boggled at the quartet. "A-Another Pretty Cure group?" she squeaked. Suddenly, she shook her head, pigtails swinging rapidly, and pointed at them. "W-Well, forget it! Whatever! I'll just have to crush all of you! My Bakuko can handle you no problem, right Bakuko?"

**"B-Baku!"** The Bakuko waved two of its front tentacles as if it were pumping fists, then shot them out at the group in front of it.

The Bukatsudo Cures jumped away again, and backwards, joining the Mirai Spark girls. Cure Spice gave them a sideways glance, a mild look of exasperation on her face. "There were better ways to reveal yourselves, ladies," she sighed. "That was dangerous."

"Yeah, but it sure was dramatic!" laughed Cure Kame, rubbing the back of her head. Then she grinned broadly. "Let's get that thing!"

"Right!"

All nine girls raced back onto the beach, spreading out to cover more ground. The Bakuko turned slightly one way, then another, note quite sure which girl exactly it should be following.

"So you girls fight these things?" Cure Tora called out. "Where do we aim?"

"That keyhole-mark up there!" Cure Beat supplied, skidding to a stop long enough to point. "Right there-"

"Gotcha!" Kemuri cried, and the Bakuko sent another tentacle at Cure Beat, it landing on her and trapping her in the water before she could react.

"Beat!" Cure Aria shouted in terror as she too stopped, focused on her sister.

Cure Beat grit her teeth as she flailed in the watery prison, glaring and trying to fire an energy blast to free herself. But when she tried, the blast was slowed down by the water, and even then when it finally broke the surface, it just flew out into the air, not breaking the tentacle as Muse's did. Muse's blast from _outside._

"Hold on, I've got you!" So fast she might as well have been a blur, Cure Tora ran for Beat and, in one smooth motion, leaped _through_ the tentacle, grabbed onto Beat as she went, and landed safely on the other side. "You okay?"

Beat just stared. "Holy crap, that was cool," she deadpanned.

"H-hey!"

The girls snapped their heads around to see the others frantically throwing energy blasts at the Bakuko, only for it to swat them aside with its tentacles and let out a loud, gurgling laugh. Spice briefly decided to forgo the blasting and skidded to a halt before going airborne, aiming a powerful kick at the Bakuko's bucket-body. Another tentacle came up to ensnare her, however, and Cure Aria had to hastily jump up and pull a shield up to keep it away.

"Spice, I don't think regular moves are going to work," she admitted as they landed.

"But what else can we do?" Spice cried nervously, grabbing Aria and jumping aside with her to avoid another tentacle.

A bit aways, Cures Ink and Draco skidded to a halt, exchanged a glance. "Every time we try _anything,_ it just traps someone in one of those things," Ink said, gesturing to the Bakuko.

"If only we could just keep them from hitting someone..."

"Stop it from moving..."

Suddenly, both girls' eyes lit up as they got the same idea, and they exchanged a brief glance. "Would that work?" Ink asked.

Draco just inclined her head. "We have to try!" Then they both looked back at the beach.

"Girls!"

Though they never stopped running or flinging energy blasts in the vain hope that _something_ would hit, everyone present turned their gazes to their respective leaders. Cures Ink and Draco stood there, hand in hand.

"Tora! Kame! Muse! Do you girls trust Cure Ink?"

"Twirl, Spice, Beat, Aria, how about you?"

"What-?" Beat began to say.

_"Do you trust us?"_ the two leaders yelled in unison. When they received no answer, Cure Draco sent out an order. "Just let it get you! Let it get you and _don't move!"_

"Are you _nuts?!_" Cure Tora cried.

_"Just trust us!"_ Ink and Draco yelled together.

Well...the girls hastily exchanged glances, nodded grimly. "Their leaders had never steered them wrong before...What did they have to lose? One by one, everyone stopped running, glared up at the Bakuko with grim determination and clenched fists.

From her perch, Kemuri was laughing again. "Well, giving up and taking everyone else with you, wimp?" she called down to Cure Ink. "Fine by me. Bakuko..._drown everyone here!"_

**"BAKUUU!"** the Bakuko shrieked, sounding overjoyed at the prospect. It lifted all its tentacles at once, each one aiming for a different Cure, whether she be standing alone or with another.

"Okay, everyone..." Cure Beat muttered, half to herself and half to whoever could hear.

"Hold your breath..." Muse.

_"Now!"_ Everyone yelled before taking a deep breath and holding it _just_ before the tentacles trapped them all in water.

"Okay, now!" Draco and Ink ran towards the Bakuko, still hand-in-hand.

And it was then that the Bakuko realized its fatal mistake. No more tentacles, meaning...

"Ohhhh crap," Kemuri mumbled, eyes wide. She swiftly jumped up, vanishing into the dark vortex that had suddenly appeared, leaving her monster alone and finally defenseless.

_"Pretty Cure..."_

_"Color Splash!"_  
_"Illuse Ring!"_

The two attacks spiraled around each other, merged as they shot straight for the keyhole mark on the Bakuko's bucket. The Bakuko glanced around frantically, desperate and confused, before staring straight at the attack. The attacks connected, bathing the Bakuko in a bright blue light. **"B-Baku...bak..."** it murmured sleepily, eyes drooping shut. And then, in another burst of light, the tentacles dissolved, freeing the other girls, and the monster became a harmless bucket once more.

Cure Tora breathed a sigh of relief, smiled wearily at Ink and Draco, who sent smiles (and in Ink's case, a V-sign) at everyone else.

* * *

Later that night, after everyone had tentatively gone back onto the beach, the nine girls sat around a small campfire, roasting various snacks and socializing. Izumi and Yasu were staring with interest at Uta's PreCure PC, and Aoi was tracing over the buttons of Draco's Puricell. Muse sat watching Kisu and the two snake fairies in her lap, laughing when Kaana offered Kisu a bite of marshmallow only for the mouse to swallow the entire thing whole.

"So you guys are Cures too?" Hiroko asked Fumie. "I had no idea!"

"Ffff, I didn't know you were either," Fumie chuckled, scratching her cheek as she smiled awkwardly. "You guys kinda scared me when I saw you standing there on the beach!"

"Hey, even if we didn't have powers, we'd want to help! You can't expect a friend to just sit back and let you risk your life out there..."

Fumie blushed faintly as she looked hastily into the fire. "Yeah. You're right."

Neither girl was aware of Kurako looming over them with a large blanket until it was too late, and she leaned between them and captured them both in a blanket-hug, wrapping the three of them up. "Hey, come on, no more talk of battle!" she said in a mock-stern voice. "It's time to relax til we have to go back to school!"

As everyone else laughed and expressed their agreement, Fumie and Hiroko exchanged a brief glance. Then Fumie held back a snicker, then Hiroko did the same, and before long the two girls were laughing too, leaning against each other with their foreheads touching.

* * *

ED: "Just Close Your Eyes" - Yukari Tamura

* * *

ON THE NEXT EPISODE:  
Uta: "Hikaru's been acting really weird!"  
Fumie: "Eh? What do you mean?"  
Uta: "He doesn't want people to see him, he keeps ducking out of sight, he's all secretive...I wonder what this means?"  
Fumie: "Ah, I hope it's not serious!"  
Uta: "Next time on Pretty Cure Bukatsudo Energetic: 'Not Going Back! I Have A New Dream!' Please don't be late for next meeting!"


End file.
